Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act
This bill requires the Department of State to report on the curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority or located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity. Among other topics, the report must address (1) whether the materials used encourage violence or intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups, (2) the steps the Palestinian Authority is taking to reform such materials, and (3) whether U.S. foreign assistance is used to fund the dissemination of the offending materials.
The State Department must make such reports publicly available.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2374 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2374
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing
the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 5, 2021
Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Zeldin, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Mast, and Mr.
Trone) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing
the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian
Education Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published
modified curricula for school-aged children in grades 1 through
11.
(2) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the
West Bank and Gaza include graphics portraying violence against
Israeli soldiers, positive portrayals of individuals who have
committed attacks against citizens of Israel, and references to
Palestinian efforts to target the ``Zionists''.
(3) PA textbooks are used at schools sponsored by the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) because UNRWA
schools use the textbooks of the host government.
(4) On April 26, 2018, the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) published a report that found the following:
(A) Textbooks in PA schools feature inaccurate and
misleading maps of the region and include militaristic,
adversarial imagery and content that incite hatred.
(B) The Department of State raised with Palestinian
officials the objectionable content in textbooks,
including a specific math problem using the number of
Palestinian casualties in the First and Second
Intifadas.
(C) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA), in its review of the textbooks, identified
content not aligned with United Nations values, the
majority of which content related to neutrality or bias
issues, including issues related to maps and references
to Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Palestinian Authority has not
sufficiently eliminated content and passages encouraging violence or
intolerance toward other countries or ethnic groups from the curriculum
used in their schools.
SEC. 4. REPORTS REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for two years in
accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary of State shall submit to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report reviewing
curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian
Authority or located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity. Each
such report shall include the following:
(1) A determination of whether there is content or passages
encouraging violence or intolerance toward other countries or
ethnic groups in such curriculum, and a detailed explanation of
the reasons for reaching such determination.
(2) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority is
taking to reform such curriculum at schools to conform with
standards of peace and tolerance in the Declaration of
Principles on Tolerance by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (adopted November 16,
1995).
(3) A determination whether United States foreign
assistance is used, directly or indirectly, to fund the
dissemination of such curriculum by the Palestinian Authority.
(4) A detailed report on how United States assistance is
being used to address curriculum that encourages violence or
intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups.
(5) A detailed report about United States diplomatic
efforts in the preceding five years to encourage peace and
tolerance in Palestinian education.
(6) If any diplomatic efforts referred to in paragraph (5)
were stopped by the Secretary of State, the reasons for such
stoppages.
(b) Public Availability.--The Secretary of State shall post on a
publicly available website of the Department of State each report
required under subsection (a).
(c) Subsequent Deadlines.--Each report required by subsection (a),
other than the first such report, shall be submitted not later than 90
days after the date on which a new school year begins for schools
controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
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