Honesty in history

Griff · 08-10-2007, 07:43 AM

Israel is starting to look at itself critically. To me, it looks like a positive step in its relationship with its Arab population.

Historic revisionism is now under way. Without fanfare, just below the media radar screen, the Israeli Education Ministry has approved a textbook for Arab third-graders in Israel that concedes the war that gave birth to Israel was a “nakba” for the Palestinians. The textbook refers to the “expulsion” of some of the Palestinians and the “confiscation of many Arab-owned lands.”

Textbooks for Jewish Israelis in the same grade make no such verbal concession. But Israel’s “new wave” historians have been combing through fresh material now available from the British mandate period and Israeli archives that document the history of Israel before and after it became a state. Long-lasting myths are being debunked.

Denial of Arab expulsions will probably last longer in the US where myth and reality don't have to look each other in the eye. I keep coming back to the Irish experience where Irish-Americans were once a stumbling block to peace because they didn't have to actually live in Ireland.

piercehawkeye45 · 08-10-2007, 07:46 AM

This is a good step in the right direction but they still have a long way to go.

xoxoxoBruce · 08-10-2007, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Textbooks for Jewish Israelis in the same grade make no such verbal concession.

Separate but equal textbooks/classes? Yeah, that works really well here.

Griff · 08-10-2007, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Separate but equal textbooks/classes? Yeah, that works really well here.

big problem

08-10-2007, 07:43 AM	#1
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Honesty in history Israel is starting to look at itself critically. To me, it looks like a positive step in its relationship with its Arab population. Historic revisionism is now under way. Without fanfare, just below the media radar screen, the Israeli Education Ministry has approved a textbook for Arab third-graders in Israel that concedes the war that gave birth to Israel was a “nakba” for the Palestinians. The textbook refers to the “expulsion” of some of the Palestinians and the “confiscation of many Arab-owned lands.” Textbooks for Jewish Israelis in the same grade make no such verbal concession. But Israel’s “new wave” historians have been combing through fresh material now available from the British mandate period and Israeli archives that document the history of Israel before and after it became a state. Long-lasting myths are being debunked. Denial of Arab expulsions will probably last longer in the US where myth and reality don't have to look each other in the eye. I keep coming back to the Irish experience where Irish-Americans were once a stumbling block to peace because they didn't have to actually live in Ireland. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

08-10-2007, 07:46 AM	#2
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	This is a good step in the right direction but they still have a long way to go.

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