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Professor At Al-Quds University: The Holocaust Must Be Taught In PA Schools

Prof. Muhammad Al-Dajani Al-Daoudi, a political science lecturer at Al-Quds University and founder of the Wasatiyya(“Middle Way”)[1] movement in Palestine, called in an article he published on November 26, 2013 on the website fikraforum.org to teach about the Holocaust in Palestinian schools.

“Most Arabs And Palestinians Are Ignorant Of This Tragic Event In Human History”

“Teaching about the Holocaust in Palestine is a serious challenge due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (I do not want to use the Arab translation of the term Holocaust – Al-Mahraka – since it does not reflect reality.) The West believes that Holocaust studies should not be limited [only] to Jews, while Arabs, and especially Palestinians, see the issue differently, as a purely Jewish concern. The challenges in teaching the Holocaust in Palestine are on four levels:

“On the educational level: Generally speaking, the events of the Holocaust and the facts about it are not mentioned in Arab and Palestinian curricula, and are not studied in Arab or Palestinian schools or universities… due to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Therefore, most Arabs and Palestinians are ignorant of this tragic event in human history.

“On the political level: The Palestinians are the only nation in the modern age that is still under military occupation… They are denied their right to self-determination and to establish a civilian, democratic and independent Palestinian state. As a result, most Palestinians believe the Holocaust was the reason for the Nakba of 1948, which Israelis celebrate as their independence day. The conflict drives some Palestinians to see [the Holocaust] as Zionist propaganda meant to garner sympathy for the Jewish problem, while others see it as Zionist propaganda or an overinflated account meant to garner international sympathy for the Jewish state.

Continue reading on MEMRI

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