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Switzerland to Examine Reports that Palestinian Textbooks Promote Violence, Racism
(Algemeiner) Shiri Moshe - The Swiss government will review reports that the Palestinian curriculum promotes violence, anti-Semitism, and other themes that undermine a solution to the conflict with Israel, the SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported on Saturday. Research published last year by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) found that lessons encourage children to view the entirety of Israel as Arab territory and refer to Israelis and Jews interchangeably and with hostility. "School materials that run contrary to the spirit of a two-state solution, which glorify violence, which fuel racism and anti-Semitism or trivialize violations of international law and human rights, are not in compliance with the Swiss position on the Middle East," a spokeswoman for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) said. "Switzerland will examine reports such as those by IMPACT-se and discuss them with other donor nations." The EU, UK and Finland are each currently conducting investigations into Palestinian teaching materials, according to IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff.