Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3266) to require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 3266

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, including textbooks, leaflets, pamphlets, magazines, and other instructional materials, 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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3266, the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act.

I thank my colleague, Mr. Sherman, for introducing this important legislation to prevent the spread of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred.

We have known for decades that Palestinian children are taught from a young age to hate Israel and the Jewish people. Despite robust international discussion about these concerns, reports by nongovernmental organizations continue to show that Palestinian schoolchildren are being indoctrinated with deeply disturbing violent imagery.

For example, a review of the textbooks used in Palestinian schools in 2020 and 2021 showed that children are taught to read with passages that describe suicide bombings and the gruesome murders of IDF soldiers, to do math using numbers of martyrs and jihadists, and to learn history by asking them to discuss how the USA took advantage of the 9/11 attack.

These textbooks propagate the lie that the Jewish people control the media and politics and explicitly refer to Jews as ``enemies of Islam in all times and places.'' Children are taught to glorify the founders of the jihad movement and learn that jihad is ``a private obligation for every Muslim.''

We will never arrive at a peaceful solution for Israelis and Palestinians as long as Palestinian children are being taught hatred in textbooks.

Look at the brutal attack that over 2,500 Hamas terrorists carried out against Israel on October 7. Why else would Hamas terrorists call home bragging that they murdered Jews? Why else would they live stream their barbaric attacks?

That disgusting and gruesome cruelty is possible because these Hamas fighters were indoctrinated with hatred at a young age. They were taught to glorify terrorism and other so-called martyrs who killed Jewish people. This must end.

The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act takes a first step to firmly establish Congress' position that the Palestinian Authority has not sufficiently eliminated inciteful and violent content from their educational curricula. It also requires the State Department to report to Congress on educational materials used in schools run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Hamas, and the Gaza Strip, and UNRWA.

A United States Government assessment of the content of these educational materials will carry tremendous weight in international efforts to eliminate hateful content and promote peace.

Since Hamas' attack, we have seen an appalling number of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel riots around the world and right here at home. I have condemned these in the strongest terms. I continue to speak out when they occur, and I have encouraged my colleagues to do the same.

That is why, earlier this year, I introduced legislation to combat the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses, the Stop Anti-Semitism on College Campuses Act, which would defund institutions of higher learning that allow, promote, or sanction anti-Semitic events on their campuses.

That is why, just last week, Josh Gottheimer and I introduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would amend the education law to require the Department of Education to use the IHRA definition of anti- Semitism on its enforcement actions of discrimination laws.

The commitment we made after the Holocaust, ``Never again,'' is being put to the test. We have a responsibility to prevent the teaching of anti-Semitism not just here in the United States but around the globe. This bipartisan bill uses the tools available to the United States Government to do just that.

We must continue to stand against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias. It is essential that we ensure children are not taught to hate, and this starts with the materials they learn in school.

The first step is passing the bipartisan Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act, to ensure we have transparent, valid, and authenticated information.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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