Bill Summary
The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act is a law that requires the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority in schools. This includes textbooks, leaflets, pamphlets, magazines, and other instructional materials. The Act also requires the Secretary of State to assess whether the curriculum contains content or passages that encourage violence or intolerance towards other countries or ethnic groups. The reports must also include information on the steps the Palestinian Authority is taking to reform the curriculum and conform with international standards of peace and tolerance. Additionally, the reports must determine if US foreign assistance is being used to fund the dissemination of the curriculum and provide details on how US assistance is being used to address any problematic content. The Act also requires a report on US diplomatic efforts to encourage peace and tolerance in Palestinian education. The reports must be made publicly available, and subsequent reports must be submitted within 90 days after the start of each new school year. This Act was passed by the House of Representatives in 2023.
Possible Impacts
1. The Act could affect students in Palestinian schools by potentially causing changes to their curriculum, as the Secretary of State is required to review and assess the curriculum for any content encouraging violence or intolerance.
2. The Act could also affect the Palestinian Authority, as it places pressure on them to reform their curriculum and conform with international standards of peace and tolerance.
3. The Act could impact the relationship between the United States and the Palestinian Authority, as it requires the Secretary of State to report on any use of US foreign assistance to disseminate curriculum promoting violence or intolerance. This could potentially lead to changes in the allocation of foreign aid.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3266 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3266
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 2, 2023
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing
the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority, 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 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.
Passed the House of Representatives November 1, 2023.
Attest:
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,
Clerk.