![]() In 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of German-Israeli diplomatic relations, the Conference published a communiqué with the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Yacov Hadas-Handelsman, on the two countries’ educational cooperation. Although it is not a legal body, the Conference plays a significant role in developing pedagogical practice and its application in schools across the country. Much of the framework for how Israel is discussed in German classrooms is set by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, a consortium of government ministers responsible for the education and schooling of all 16 federal states. This endeavor is backed up by intensive efforts to promote contact between Israeli and German students, without setting up similar engagements with Palestinian students the removal of discussion of the occupation from classrooms and well-funded projects aimed at training German teachers in Israel. And while the education system in Germany is left up to the discretion and authority of its 16 federal states, the push to present Israel in a positive light - while silencing discussion of Palestinian oppression - is a consistent factor across them all. I had to do my own research, because otherwise we were only taught a ubiquitous narrative of Israel being an underdog against these Arab countries who wanted to annihilate it for being a Jewish state.”Īccording to those who spoke to +972, much of this hostile atmosphere can be traced back to German government-led programs and official school materials that promote a pro-Israel narrative in the classroom while shutting down dissent. “Any discussion about what really happened with the creation of Israel was futile. “He just accused me of antisemitism and said the Nakba was an antisemitic conspiracy theory,” Lang told +972. Thomas Lang, now 22, recalls mentioning the Nakba to his teacher in his school in Bavaria. I wish Palestine was addressed in a way that simply respects the Palestinian community, especially in a country where there are so many Palestinians.” “I was told not to speak about Palestine by a teacher because, according to them, I would not be able to stay neutral. “I would need to be very careful and exact about the things I would say,” said Shuruq, who is now an undergraduate student in Berlin. I know being pro-Palestinian doesn’t mean I’m anti-Jewish,” she added, “ I’m careful who is around me when I talk about my identity or my experiences as a Palestinian in this country, because I am afraid of discrimination.” “Every criticism of Israel or its political system is seen as antisemitic and denounced, even by fellow students who feel emboldened to call me antisemitic for holding anti-Zionist views. “The discourse in Germany is extremely pro-Israel,” she explained. Mariam has also been accused of being antisemitic because of her pro-Palestinian beliefs, including by her peers. My teacher implied my identity just didn’t exist,” she said. ![]() “That was a really painful experience for me. Mariam, a 12th-grader in Saxony, told +972 that she was interrupted by a teacher when talking about her Palestinian background, and told that she was Israeli. Several more current and former Palestinian-German students have told +972 about experiencing discrimination and censorship in the classroom on the basis of their Palestinian identity, and feeling that there is no room to disagree with how Israel is presented in their schools. ![]() Vakili, now 35, was also reprimanded for wearing the black-and-white checkered keffiyeh, which one teacher referred to as a “terrorist scarf.” “Whenever I would mention that I was Palestinian, my teachers were outraged and said that I should refer to as Jordanian,” she said. “The word ‘Palestine’ was strictly forbidden in my classroom,” Dahlia Vakili, a Palestinian German, recalled in an interview with +972 about her secondary education experience in the federal state of Lower Saxony. From textbooks to trips, Germany’s education system is aggressively pushing a pro-Israel narrative hostile to any Palestinian dissent in the classroom. ![]()
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