Saudi Arabian textbooks for the 2023/24 school year have undergone revisions aimed at promoting tolerance, peace, and equality. In a significant move towards fostering a more tolerant and peaceful educational environment, the word “Palestine” has been removed from maps that previously covered the entire territory of Israel. Additionally, references to Jews as monkeys and pigs have been eliminated from religious texts.
The curriculum acknowledges the presence of Jews in the region but no longer refers to them as traitors by nature or enemies of Islam. However, the Holocaust is still absent from the textbooks, and Israel is still not mentioned on the maps. The Saudi curriculum emphasizes their commitment to the Palestinian issue and continues to label organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Houthis as terrorist groups.
Marcus Sheff, CEO of research and policy institute IMPACT-se commended these changes stating that it is a positive step towards fostering a more tolerant and peaceful educational environment. Eric Agassi, deputy director at IMPACT-se noted that textbooks play a crucial role in shaping future generations’ understanding of complex issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Despite recent efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, Riyadh continues to criticize Israel for its actions in occupied Palestinian territories. Riyadh has condemned what it sees as ongoing atrocities committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian refugees in Rafah and holds Israel responsible for these violations of humanitarian norms and international law.
In conclusion, while progress has been made towards promoting tolerance in Saudi Arabian textbooks for 2023/24 school year there are still areas where improvement can be made such as acknowledging Jewish Holocaust victims or removing references to Israeli actions in occupied territories which can perpetuate negative stereotypes among students.
