Lest you get the impression that the US is becoming like Communist Russia with textbooks celebrating Obama’s “life of service” to the people, keep in mind that we’re also a lot like Saudi Arabia:
A couple of weeks ago, a book came out that detailed many cases of bias in US textbooks, which included such problematic passages as “Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus?” (The World, Scott Foresman/Pearson).”A number of other troubling claims are made, although the brief description of the book doesn’t give specific examples. I just noticed that the report included a mind-blowing table that compares how Judaism, Christianity and Islam are described. In the examples below, the origins of Judaism and Christianity are consistently described as “claims” and “stories” but the claims of Islam are described factually.
Just to be clear:
American elementary and high school textbooks contain many “gross misrepresentations” of Judaism, Christianity and Israel, according to a book-length study released this week by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research…. Among the “outrageous misrepresentations” the study found was “a denial of the Jewish roots of Jesus,” as when the textbook The World relates that “Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus.” “Textbooks include negative stereotypes of Jews, Judaism and Israel,” the authors write. “For example, textbooks tend to discredit the ties between Jews and the land of Israel.” According to Tobin, “you’re much more likely to learn about Jewish terrorism before the founding of Israel [in the textbooks] than about terrorism against Israel since that time.”
Remember that time when the US’s first Hebrew charter school had to suspend classes on suspicion of “advocating the Jewish faith?” Doesn’t that almost seem like a double standard now? Ah well. At least our students will feel comfortable if they ever have to do a semester abroad in Europe.
References:
* Textbooks About Obama’s “Life Of Service” To The People Already Being Used To Indoctrinate Youth [MR]
* US textbooks treat Islam as the true religion [Elder]
* ‘US textbooks misrepresent Jews, Israel’ [JPost]
* US Hebrew School Lessons Shut Down For Being Too Damn Jewish [MR]
Previously:
* Palestinian Civil Society Watch – Now They’re Bombing Gaza Schools Because Of Little League
* US Public Diplomacy, Tact Don’t Extend To Israel
* High Court Of Israeli Apartheid State Forces Government To Increase Funding To Arab Schools
