• Research Update reveals Lack of Change in Saudi Curriculum
  July, 2008 (pdf, 227 kb)
  The Saudi Arabian school curriculum has recently been at the eye of a media storm due to the controversy surrounding the Islamic Saudi Academy in Virginia, and the pledge made by the Saudi government in 2006 to remove texts promoting intolerance, hatred and extremism from its curriculum by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. In July, IMPACT-SE completed an update on its 2003 report on the Saudi curriculum. Its findings are striking: Significant progress has yet to be made, in stark contrast with the Arabian kingdom’s effort to present itself as a leading moderate power in the Middle East and the proponent of the 2002 Arab peace initiative.

• IMPACT-SE's Report on Palestinian Textbooks receives Worldwide Coverage
  June 3, 2008
  IMPACT-SE's Director of Research Dr. Arnon Groiss presented its latest report -- "Palestinian Textbooks: from Arafat to Abbas and Hamas" -- at Jerusalem's Media Central, to 18 journalists of the international press, as well as Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, on June 3, 2008. Following the presentation, detailing the concluding analysis of the seven-year Palestinian Authority schoolbook publication project, IMPACT-SE Chairman Dr. Yohanan Manor joined in a lively question and answer session, which spilled over into informal discussions, long after the presentation had ended. Associated Press Correspondent Diaa Hadid's coverage of the event was picked up by over 120 media outlets worldwide, including the International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Jerusalem Post and Fox News, to name a few. It is worthwhile noting that the response to the report by the spokesman for Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad included a "call for tolerance" in PA textbooks -- resonating one of the principal goals of IMPACT-SE. (See: "Report: Palestinian textbooks portray Jews badly," Associated Press, June 4, 2008)

• IMPACT-SE's Report on Iranian Textbooks Discussed on Iranian VOA Program
  March 25, 2008
  IMPACT-SE's Researcher Shayan Arya participated in an hour long discussion on the popular Persian program "Round Table," produced by Voice of America (VOA), regarding the Iranian school curriculum and IMPACT-SE's report. Dr. Saeed Paivandi of Paris-8 University, who just published a similar report regarding Iran's educational system under the Islamic regime for the Freedom House, also participated.

• IMPACT-SE's Report on Iran in the World Media - Jan. 2007 - March 2008
  IMPACT-SE's report on Iranian schoolbooks continues to be widely noticed by the media worldwide. In February and March 2008, three more articles were added to this partial list of news articles and blogs in several languages.

• AJC-CMIP Report: "Scant Progress in Revising Palestinian Textbooks" 
  March 20, 2008 (pdf, 28 kb)
  Seven years after the Palestinian Authority began publishing textbooks for use in West Bank and Gaza schools, there still is no recognition of the State of Israel and no advocacy of peace with it. Instead, the textbooks promote violent struggle, while hateful descriptions of Jews and the West remain prevalent.

• Analysis: "Palestinian Textbooks: From Arafat to Abbas and Hamas"
  Dr. Arnon Groiss - March 2008 (pdf, 693 kb)
  This is our concluding analysis of the seven-year schoolbook publication project, which took place in the Palestinian Authority until 2006. It is based on the six reports issued by IMPACT-SE (formerly CMIP) since 1998, including our recent draft report on schoolbooks for grades 11 and 12. It examines the underlying principles in PA's attitude to the Other and to peace in the Middle East, which are revealed in the books. It also attempts to determine whether a shift took place in this respect during the publication process, as a result of the major political changes in the Palestinian Authority. Briefly, it concludes that some improvement was noticeable in the schoolbooks published under Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, following the death of Yassir Arafat, but the older, uncompromising approach reappears under the Hamas-led government.

• Discussion Panel on "Iranian Textbooks: Preparing Iran’s Children for Global Jihad"
  Hudson Institute, Washington, DC, March 10, 2008
  As debates rage about Iran’s nuclear intentions, educational textbooks may serve as one of the more candid guides for discerning this regime’s worldview and ideology. IMPACT-SE researchers, Arnon Groiss and Shayan Arya, covered the Iranian report’s detailed findings and discussed the implications for the United States and the rest of the international community.
  Supporting document: PowerPoint Presentation (pdf, 1.23 mb)

• "Attitudes toward Jews in schoolbooks issued by the PA Ministry of Endowments & Religious Affairs"
  Briefing, Jerusalem, Jan. 8, 2008
  Eradicating incitement from Palestinian schools has been a central theme in negotiations since the Oslo accords. President Bush himself has demanded that educators "Teach values and moral responsibility in schools." In light of President Bush's visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, IMPACT-SE is hosting this briefing to examine religious textbooks for 7th-12th grade students in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
  Supporting documents:
  • Summary (pdf, 66 kb)
  • Presentation Slides (pdf, 466 kb)

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