Letter to MOE

Letter to School

Dear ———

I’m writing as a concerned parent in regard to the recent discourse regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in school, as shared with me by my son/daughter.

As a parent, I feel I must point out that the material being shown to our children at [name of school] has a skewed position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as such is in my view not a suitable text to deliver a balanced narrative on the subject to students.

While I understand that the material is supported by the Ministry of Education, it incorrectly presents a narrative about the conflict that leaves out the Occupation, and Apartheid perpetuated by Israel on Palestine and on the Palestinian people. Numerous global governments, the United Nations, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, have issued resolutions that refer to the territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, including Gaza, as Occupied Territories. This is a matter of recorded and historical fact, and cannot be glossed over.

Rather, the material focuses on the “acts of terror” perpetuated by the oppressed communities and glaringly omits the overwhelmingly one-sided violence and dispossession perpetrated by the Israelis against the Palestinians, indeed that we see happening as I write this, and which has been occurring for decades.

A key part of the discourse of the material being presented is the framing of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a battle of 'moderate majorities' versus 'extremists.' Its stated goal is to show students ‘that the conflict is complex and that the majority of citizens in the region on both sides just want peace.' In doing so, it purposely omits the narrative of Occupier/Occupied – which is internationally recognised.

It is fundamentally important for our young people to hear non-partisan voices – opposed to all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian discrimination and violence, including the Israeli Occupation – that will help transform the existing narrative on Palestine-Israel to one that upholds freedom, justice and equality for all, grounded in a belief in our shared humanity.

Kind regards,

XXX

Letter for Minister of Education

Dear Minister,

I’m writing as a concerned parent in regard to the recent discourse regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in school, as shared with me by my daughter.

As a parent, I feel I must point out that the material being shown to our children at [name of school] and as I understand it, across all schools under the purview of the Ministry of Education, has a skewed position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and as such is in my view not a suitable text to deliver a balanced narrative on the subject to students.

While I understand that the material has been provided by the Ministry of Education, it incorrectly presents a narrative about the conflict that leaves out the Occupation, and Apartheid perpetuated by Israel on Palestine and on the Palestinian people. Numerous global governments, the United Nations, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, have issued resolutions that refer to the territories captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, including Gaza, as Occupied Territories. This is a matter of recorded and historical fact, and cannot be glossed over.

It is extremely important when exposing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to clearly define the Occupation, the Occupiers and the Occupied and the universal international laws that apply to such Occupations. The insistence on framing this conflict as one between two equivalent sides is neither true to historical fact nor helpful towards bringing about a peaceful resolution based on equality.

I would be grateful for your explanation on the following issues:

1) Why does the government feel the need to share this presentation/discourse with our children at this point in time?

2) I am sure you are aware of and approved the contents of the material presented to our children. The slides contained sentences that stated Hamas wants a ‘destruction of Israel’ and committed an ‘act of terror’ on October 7th. Did the discourse mention the ongoing actual destruction of Palestinians and their land or the rising death toll in Gaza? Was there any mention of the numerous comments made by Israeli ministers which have been presented by other nations to the International Court of Justice as bearing genocidal intent. Did teachers discuss the fact that our nation itself has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza in December 2023, alongside 150+ other countries?

3) As parents we want to work with the teachers and school leaders to ensure that our children are healthy, all-rounded and well-informed. Presenting a one-sided narrative achieves none of the above. I would like the Ministry to engage the students on a separate occasion as a follow-up to this discourse, and present a balanced narrative to our children so that the children are imparted skills which will allow them to be aware of the state of current affairs and not be apathetic global citizens.

I look forward to your response.

Regards,

Xxxx