Bill Summary
This bill, titled the "Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act," aims to address concerns about the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the West Bank and Gaza. It requires the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the curriculum used in these schools, with a focus on whether there is any content that promotes violence or intolerance towards other nations or ethnic groups. The bill also calls for an assessment of the steps being taken to reform the curriculum to meet international standards of peace and tolerance, and a determination of whether any US foreign assistance is being used to support the dissemination of this curriculum. The reports must be made public and submitted annually for a period of ten years.
Possible Impacts
1. The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act could affect students in the West Bank and Gaza by potentially limiting the content and materials they are exposed to in their schools. This could impact their knowledge and understanding of certain subjects and potentially limit their critical thinking skills.
2. The Act could also affect the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA by requiring them to make changes to their curriculum and remove any content that encourages violence or intolerance towards other nations or ethnic groups. This could lead to tension and conflict between these organizations and the government.
3. Additionally, the Act could also have financial implications for the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA as it requires the Secretary of State to determine if US foreign assistance is being used to fund the dissemination of the curriculum. This could potentially lead to funding being withheld or redirected, affecting the resources and operations of these organizations.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2343 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2343
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing
the educational material used by the Palestinian Authority or the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East in the West Bank and Gaza, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2019
Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Zeldin, Mr. Trone, Mr. Mast, Mr.
Gottheimer, and Mr. Weber of Texas) 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 or the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East in the West Bank and Gaza, 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 curriculums for school-aged children in grades 1
through 11.
(2) The new Palestinian curriculums fail to meet the
international standards of peace and tolerance in educational
materials established by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
(3) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority and the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA) in the West Bank and Gaza demonize
Israel, encourage war, and teach children that Palestinian
statehood can be achieved through violence.
(4) On April 26, 2018, the Government Accountability Office
published a report that found that textbooks in UNRWA schools
do not mention Israel or Judaism, feature maps of the region
that exclude Israel, and include content that incites violence.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Palestinian Authority and
UNRWA have not sufficiently worked to eliminate all content and
passages encouraging violence or intolerance toward other nations or
ethnic groups from the curriculum used in their respective schools.
SEC. 4. REPORT REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for ten 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 controlled by the Palestinian Authority or
UNRWA in the West Bank and Gaza that includes the following:
(1) A determination whether all content and passages
encouraging violence or intolerance toward other nations or
ethnic groups has been removed in such curriculum, and a
detailed explanation of the reasons for reaching such
determination.
(2) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority
and UNRWA are 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
or UNRWA.
(b) Public Availability.--The Secretary shall make each report
submitted pursuant to subsection (a) on a publicly available website of
the Department of State.
(c) Subsequent Deadlines.--Each report required by subsection (a),
other than first, 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 or UNRWA schools in the West Bank and Gaza.
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