by Mathilda Heller
The history book features a sympathetic depiction of Israel’s wars, portraying them as existential battles against Arab states armed by the Soviet Union.
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A world history textbook that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that portrays Israel as the victim of Arab-initiated wars has been chosen by the Ukrainian Education Ministry as its new 11th-grade history book, its author, Dr. Igor Shchupak, told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.
Shchupak is the director of the Tkuma Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies, a member of the International Auschwitz Council, and a member of the Ukrainian-German Historical Commission.
His book is 300 pages, including 11 that deal with Israel. It was selected in a national competition for 11th-grade history textbooks.
About 165,000 copies have been printed so far, which is more than all other textbooks for this grade combined, Shchupak said.
It was recommended by the Education Ministry, and the state paid for the publishing.
The section of the book that discusses Israel spans the period between the end of World War II in 1945 and the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
Ukraine rolls out new textbooks discussing Israel-Hamas War
In the textbook, Shchupak, who is responsible for promoting Jewish history and combating antisemitism on behalf of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU), cited the struggle of the Jewish national movement to establish a state of its own.The depiction of Israel’s wars is sympathetic, portraying them as existential battles against Arab states armed by the Soviet Union.
The textbook includes a world map showing countries and their capitals, with Jerusalem marked as the capital of Israel.
Israel’s fourth prime minister, Golda Meir, was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, the textbook says.
It introduces Israel by discussing the establishment of the state at length, including the etymology of the word “Palestine,” the Declaration of Independence, and the Arab blockade of Jerusalem.
It sheds a sympathetic light on Israel’s foundational wars. On May 15, 1948, a league of Arab nations – Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Lebanon – launched an offensive on Israel, it says, adding that “the military forces of the newly created Jewish state stopped the Arab armies and defeated them.”
In the section on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the textbook sheds light on the explicitly stated desire of Arab leaders to annihilate Israel.
They include former Iraqi president Abdel Rahman Aref, who said, “The existence of Israel is a mistake that must be corrected. Our goal is clear: to wipe Israel off the face of the earth”; and former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, who said, “The only method of influence that we will use against Israel will be total war. We must throw the Jews into the sea, destroying them as a nation.”
Regarding the Six Day War, “the armed forces of the Arab countries significantly outnumbered the Israeli ones,” the textbook says.
“In just 80 hours, Israel defeated armies that were several times larger in number and equipment than its own and captured territories that were 3.5 times larger than the area of the Jewish state,” it says.
Arab nations were the aggressors in the Yom Kippur War, the textbook says, adding that the Arab nations and Israel each considered the war as a victory for themselves.
The textbook also discusses the problems faced by Palestinian refugees. The Palestinians are useful to Arab nations only if they remain as perpetual refugees, as this would help frame the actions of “Israeli imperialism” in case of a new Arab-Israeli war, it says.
“Most of the exiles were forced to live on UN assistance,” it says, adding that “in such conditions, the idea of fighting Israel through terrorism found a response among the Palestinians.”
Regarding the worsening of tensions and violence during the First and Second Intifadas and following Hamas’s 2006 election win in Gaza, the textbook says: “Unlike Fatah, Hamas has refused to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, has not stopped terrorist attacks, and has not agreed to the recognition of the State of Israel by the Palestinian Arabs.”
“Hamas does not accept any compromises, advocates the destruction of the State of Israel, and has declared its goal to create an Islamic Arab state throughout Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank,” it says.
The textbook cites Hamas’s nefarious warfare tactics, including “attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians, hostage-taking and using them as human shields, suicide attacks, and shelling of Israeli territory with rockets.”
Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by Israel, Canada, the US, Japan, and the European Union, among others, Shchupak said.
THE TEXTBOOK also discusses the October 7 massacre.
“On October 7, 2023, one of the bloodiest terrorist acts in the world in recent decades was carried out, which caused great human losses to Israel,” it says.
Atrocities on that day were carried out by Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians, who joined forces to “commit mass massacres – murders, torture, rape,” the textbook says.
“The ‘civilian population’ of Gaza joyfully welcomed the news of these massacres... The terrorists also captured and took hundreds of hostages to the Gaza Strip, including citizens of other countries, the elderly, and children,” it says.In response to Hamas's attack, Israel was forced to launch a military operation to eliminate the terrorist threat and free the hostages, the textbook says.
It also cites Hamas’s stealing of humanitarian aid, its use of materials to create rockets, and its network of underground military communication lines and structures.
Aside from informing students, the textbook aims to promote critical engagement with the material by asking them to identify the causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, analyze the origins of the Palestinian refugee problem, and identify the reasons that contribute to the emergence and development of terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
It also encourages comparisons between Israel and Ukraine, asking what modern Ukraine can learn from the experience of Israel’s state formation.
According to FJCU chairman Rabbi Mayer Stambler, who helped advise Shchupak on Israel-related content, “This textbook is yet another reminder that Ukraine is a true friend of Israel and always has been.”
“Recently, the Ukrainian Education Ministry officially approved a new Holocaust curriculum developed in collaboration with the FJCU, Yad Vashem, and the Tkuma Institute, which focuses on Jewish suffering during the Holocaust, particularly in Ukraine,” he said, adding that the curriculum will be taught in upper-level high school classes.
“The new world history textbook is another cornerstone in imparting historical truth to Ukrainian students, helping them understand the Jewish people’s importance to their country, the horrific injustice of the Holocaust, and today’s commitment to Israel and its Jewish citizens,” Stambler said.
Mathilda Heller
Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-857513
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