"Israel will remove from school textbooks an Arabic term that describes its creation in 1948 as a "catastrophe", the Education Ministry said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when he was opposition leader two years ago the word "nakba" in Israeli Arab schools was tantamount to spreading propaganda against Israel." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1102099.html
What do you think, is this being done because it actually is "propaganda", or is Israel trying to cover up its appalling history?
2009-07-22T15:02:33Z
In America, they openly talk about the way the Native Americans had their homes stolen. If Israel is the democracy the Pro-Israelis boast about, they wouldn't engage in this sort of censorship.
Anonymous2009-07-23T00:58:48Z
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I say, let the israelis do whatever the F*ck they want. We know they are the biggest propaganda machine in the west and maybe the world.
But if that be the case:
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD from an Israel-supporter of how history textbooks of Arab children are "Anti-Semitic" when they truthfully point to the atrocity of the Nakbah and mention how Jewish terrorist groups like Irgun terrorized the Arabs and British and then insolently attempted to lay the blame on Arabs by dressing up as Arabs when they attacked them, in order to confuse the British as to who did the attack. Or when Arab history books truthfully point to the fact that "if it were not for Islam there would not be a single Jew alive today" is falsely labeled as Anti-Semitic.
How can Netanyahu seriously support peace when he just wants to expand Israel's settlements. It is doubtful that any Israel politician has ever supported a true solution to the conflict with a Palestinian state, that is free of settlements, controls its airspace, controls its water supply, but if there is it will likely be one from the Labour Party as the Likuds and just "closet Kahanists"
Well, the creation of Israel was certainly a catastrophe for the Arabs. But the Arabs that chose to stay in Israel are citizens of that state and should be loyal to it (especially since they have much better lives than if they lived in an Arab country).
It would be like having an American textbook in Mississippi saying that the abolition of slavery was a catastrophe (it was for the South). Totally unpatriotic and racist. Just like having the word "nakba" used in an Israeli textbook.
I think it is propaganda on the part of Israel to ban it. They don't want their citizens to know how the surrounding countries feel about them? They don't want their citizens to know the truth about the creation of Israel? That is propaganda.
Arieh's comparison to slavery is erroneous. Yes, it would be racist to say that the abolition of slavery was a catastrophe, but in Israel they are creating segregation, not uniting all - so to support Israel is to support racism. Muslims, Christians, and Arabs in Israel don't have a better life in Israel than they would other places - they are treated as less than Jewish Israelies. Also Arieh's comparison said that it is unpatriotic to not support the abolition of slavery, and again I don't agree. A citizen can disagree with a country's actions and policies while still being a loyal citizen - that is what freedom is. Maybe that's not the way it is in Israel so Arieh doesn't recognize it...
Due to the fact that the occupation forces are still openly committing gruesome acts against the Palestinians that they were committing 50 years ago, no.
l do not think the occupation force cares about covering up it's pathetic and disgusting history.
This newest occupation force atrocity is aimed at moving the occupation force one step closer to it's long-standing goal of revoking the citizenship of Arabs in occupied Palestine and deporting them.
funny, this is how the holocaust in Germany started. By revoking people of citizenship and deporting them.