Textbook case of Leftist propaganda

I have to say, this is a first. I have never before been compelled to write something about Israel because of the Quakers.

But the Quakers are owed the lion’s share of credit for this post, because at first I was willing to ignore the news that Labor activist/education minister Yuli Tamir approved the following line in a third-grade textbook meant for Israeli Arabs: “The Arabs call the war ‘nakba,’ a war of disaster and loss, while the Jews call it ‘the War of Independence.’”

The line does three things that makes us question Tamir’s competence as an Israeli education minister (though her resume is now picture-perfect for that same position in Ramallah or Gaza City).

First, the line puts the Arab version of the war before the Israeli version; second, the line lends legitimacy to any discussion about what to name the war, as if it were a personal preference issue and not a state history issue; and third, the line offers a creative definition of the Arabic word “nakba” — it does not mean a “war of disaster and loss”, it means “catastrophe.” There is a significant difference, as well as a simple accuracy issue that shouldn’t slip past an education minister.

Now, back to those Quakers. I wasn’t going to write anything about this, because I naïvely assumed that the world understood that the use of the word nakba was simply an attempt by Arab propagandists to rewrite history — mostly, in fact, to mislead their own people.

Along comes the American Friends Service Committee, a peacenik, campfire, Sesame Street clone of any number of worldwide dovish support groups. In its own words:

"Founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian war victims, AFSC's work attracts the support and partnership of people of many races, religions, and cultures.
AFSC's work is based on the Quaker belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice."

Fantastic. They even have a Nobel Peace Prize. Another thing they have is a glossary of terms related to the Israeli-Arab conflict. Here is their definition of nakba: “‘The Catastrophe’ — Refers to the loss of Palestine to the Israelis in the 1948 War.”

Wow. So “Palestine” was lost to “the Israelis” in the war? That sounds terrible. It’s a good thing it’s not true. Not only was the land divided and independence declared before the war, Palestine wasn’t lost to anybody, and the way this is worded, well, it’s a denotation nakba.

The definition is an absolute disaster, and it’s one of the reasons many in the government called for Tamir’s job. Because Arab propaganda spreads so quickly and so thoroughly, Tamir’s nakba textbook description is at best foolish ineptitude and at worst treasonous. There is likely a BBC desk job awaiting Tamir after her work here is done.

One imagines what else is in the “history” book. Does it describe Passover as a holiday when according to Jews we spread haroseth on our matzah but according to Arabs we spread the blood of Christian babies? Does it refer to Jerusalem as al-Quds? Or maybe it offers one of the now-popular and unequivocally ridiculous pieces of propaganda characterizing Jesus as a Palestinian (he was Judean, born in Nazareth long before it was called Syria Palaestina or Palaestina).

The truth is that the Arabs don’t need Tamir’s help; they write their own textbooks — dishonest manuals of hate, racism, and corruption — and far better than what Tamir can write for them. I would suggest she read them, but I don’t want to give her any ideas.

It’s really just self-serving politics; Tamir has a chance to use her platform to release the nakba of her poisonous left-wing imagination.