The Missing Narratives in Palestinian Schoolbooks

The highly politicized Israeli and Western scrutiny of Palestinian textbooks has seemingly led the Palestinian Authority to opt for a cursory discussion of the Nakba. Al-Shabaka policy member Zarefa Ali urges that refugee testimonies be incorporated into the curriculum and that it be overhauled to present the historical, critical and literary dimensions of the Nakba. Otherwise, she warns, the Palestinians risk raising entire generations ignorant of their own history.

Which comes first: shifting the balance of power or reclaiming the Palestinian narrative? Does the Palestinian Authority education system undermine the Palestinian story? Is there a place for the Israeli in the Palestinian narrative? How badly has the hegemonic narrative on Israel in the U.S. been shaken? These questions and more are thrashed out in this provocative Al-Shabaka roundtable.

As progressive forces in the United States prepare to convene the second U.S. Social Forum this week in Detroit, Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Noura Erakat comments on the gap between Palestinian and Arab dreams of an America committed to justice and the reality of the work it would take to achieve this dream