"Israel" to Ban 1948 "Catastrophe-Nakba" References in School Books

Source: almanar.com.lb, 22-07-2009

In line of the continued "Israeli" rulings aimed at cancelling the Arab identity in occupied Palestine, "Israeli" Education Minister Gideon Saar announced that the Arabic term which is used to describe the creation of the Zionist entity in 1948 as a "catastrophe"- Arabic for Nakba- will be banned from school books in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The decision to integrate this idea into teaching for Arab Israelis several years ago constitutes an error that will be corrected in the next school books currently being prepared," the minister said.

"There is no reason to present the creation of the "Israeli" state as a catastrophe in an official teaching program. The education system's objective is not to deny the legitimacy of our state, nor promote extremism among Arab Israelis."

A law has also been proposed that would deny all state aid linked to the commemoration of Nakba.

An initial version proposed by "Israeli" Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman would have banned all Nakba commemorations and carried sentences of up to three years in prison.

Earlier, "Israeli" Minister of Transport said the "Israeli" government decided to "remove street signs that include the Arabic names of Palestinian towns and streets within "Israeli" boundaries". The Arab name for Jerusalem, A-Quds, will be deleted and replaced by the Hebrew which is a further contravention of international law that states the Israelis cannot make changes to the city until an agreement is reached regarding its status. The same is happening with the Palestinian cities of Nazareth and Akka. There are more on the list.

Many analysts have said that this decision stems from plans toward Judaization of all of historic Palestine and shows the extreme racism of the ("Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government that seeks to cancel Arab identity.