Textbooks in Israel

Textbooks in Israel are published in Israel by the Ministry of Education of Israel and other educational institutions.

Israel's Compulsory Education Law provides free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 5 to 18, from the last year of kindergarten up to 12th grade.

An analysis of Israeli textbooks in 2000 by the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP), now known as the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, found that the legitimacy of the State of Israel as an independent Jewish state on the territory of the Land of Israel and the immigration of Jews to the country was never questioned. There was no indoctrination against the Arabs as a nation, nor a negative presentation of Islam. Islam, Arab culture and the Arabs' contribution to human civilization were presented in a positive light. No book called for violence or war. Many books express the yearning for peace between Israel and the Arab countries.

In textbooks for state-run schools, there was an effort to remove stereotypes and educate towards tolerance. In some textbooks for the Orthodox Jewish community, the researchers found derogatory adjectives, prejudices, patronizing expressions and disrespect toward Arabs. The Arab leadership was portrayed as motivated by an eternal hatred independent of historical circumstances. In textbooks for every age, Israel's wars are described as justified wars of defense, and the Arabs held responsible for them. The Palestinian exodus is attributed to the fact that the Arabs fled from their homes. Only a few textbooks stated that some refugees were expelled by Israel or were forced to flee through threats. Some do not mention the Palestinian exodus at all.

According to the report, Islam is described with respect in both the general the religious state-run educational streams. Many books elaborate in detail how Muhammad established Islam and explain its fundamentals in a factual, objective manner. Many books highlight positive aspects in Islam. The language is factual and devoid of offensive terms and stereotypes. Sites holy to both Jews and Muslims are not presented as exclusively Jewish and the Arabs' attachment to these sites is taught. The students are even taught about the Muslims affinity to Jerusalem, although, the focus is on the religious, rather than the political dimension. The CIMP report found that it was only in the ultra-orthodox stream that textbooks contained prejudice, patronizing expressions and disrespect to Arabs.

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