Israel rewrites history textbook 9 replies

Al Jazeera English - News - Israel Rewrites History Textbook

When I read the title, I thought it would be something radical, a new interpretation.

It is however, simply the inclusion of the following phrase:

The Arabs call the war the Nakba, a war of catastrophe, loss and humiliation, and the Jews call it the Independence war.

But then, take a look at the political fallout:

Avigdor Lieberman, strategic affairs minister, denounced the book, blaming "the masochism and defeatism of the Israeli left, which constantly seeks to apologise, while we did what we had to".

Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the right-wing Likud party, said that Tamir should resign for approving use of the phrase, arguing that the Jewish state's right to exist should not be open to debate.

"Shall we inject Arab propaganda into our schools with our own hands?" he said.

So, what do you think? Does Israel have a (moral) duty to teach children a wider view of its history?

Some one has to start making concessions...Maybe now that Israel did this, they can pressure Arabs into sharing the Israeli view(to an extent as well) on thier students. Besides this shows more open mindedness.

yeah it would probably help if they had a wider view of things from the past even though a few events might make them angry.

History must always be objective & truthful. It's not there to serve nationalist ideas or political gains but it's there for people to learn about the past, understand the present and predict the future while getting versatile & truthful view about how nations have developed to this day. The whole issue between Japan & China about WW II history just disgusts me: today's people aren't responsible for what their grand parents did and this applies to all nations, including Germany.

Israel has been censoring school material for decades to make it more favorable to their perspective of the conflict; this is so rooted in society that some minister suggested that the education minister who proposed this should resign, just for suggesting including a more neutral perspective. Most Israelis don't even now about the thousands and thousands of Palestinians that were displaced. They know nothing but the Israel-glorifying half-truths that are allowed to be told.

Relander;3813292The whole issue between Japan & China about WW II history just disgusts me: today's people aren't responsible for what their grand parents made and this applies to all nations, including Germany.

Completely agree here, there are few things I hate more than idiots who know nothing about history telling Germans that they should feel responsible for what people did that happened to have lived near were they do.

The conflict in Palestine is a completely different matter however since it's still very much active and affects the entire region.

-DarthMaul-Some one has to start making concessions...Maybe now that Israel did this, they can pressure Arabs into sharing the Israeli view(to an extent as well) on thier students. Besides this shows more open mindedness.[/quote] While that would be a nice thing i doubt it would happen anytime soon. Although i have to admit thats its questionable if this is true or not, given the fact that its Al Jazeera claiming this. [QUOTE=Karst]Most Israelis don't even now about the thousands and thousands of Palestinians that were displaced. They know nothing but the Israel-glorifying half-truths that are allowed to be told.

You really think only Israel does this?

-DarthMaul-Some one has to start making concessions...Maybe now that Israel did this, they can pressure Arabs into sharing the Israeli view(to an extent as well) on thier students. Besides this shows more open mindedness.

While that would be a nice thing i doubt it would happen anytime soon that Arabians would so much as even think about share the Israelian view about being more open minded.

Are you kidding? Arab propaganda? If it is a fact that that is what the war is called by Arab nations, then whats the big deal?

It's good to see that Israeli textbooks are getting more accurate, but I say expand the distribution of these textbooks to the non-Arabs in Israel, as well. Although I think the Israelis were in the right in that war, it is important to have both sides, especially when both sides have valid points.

Hardy har hardy harrr I'm in israel at this moment =o. Vacation summer grandparents. Let them open up history. Well This place is dam boring. Hehe.