Greg Bouwer
IINZ
Each year, the watchdog group IMPACT-se publishes a rigorous analysis of the Palestinian Authority’s school curriculum – and each year, the conclusion is chillingly familiar. The 2025–2026 review reveals that PA and UNRWA-run schools continue to teach antisemitism, glorify violence, and reject Israel’s legitimacy.¹
Thanks in part to our tax dollars, New Zealand helps fund UNRWA, and UNRWA schools use this very curriculum.² That means Kiwi taxpayers are underwriting an educational system that teaches children to hate Jews, celebrate terrorism, and imagine a future without Israel. If this were happening in any other context – say, if a curriculum glorified violence against another religious or ethnic group – there would rightly be moral and political outrage.
What the PA Curriculum Actually Teaches
IMPACT-se’s latest report provides damning evidence.
Antisemitism remains at the heart. Textbooks depict Jews as deceitful or corrupt. For example, an 11th-grade history book features a hand with a Star of David gripping the globe – a classic antisemitic image.³ Islamic education materials portray “the Jews” as immoral manipulators hostile to Islam.³
Martyrdom, jihad, violence are glorified. From grade one, children learn the word shahīd (martyr). In third-grade math, they are asked to calculate the number of martyrs in the First Intifada; and in ninth-grade statistics, they compute martyrs killed by Israel.³ Even hymn-like poems and classroom performances celebrate violence.⁴ In some reopened Gaza schools, girls danced chanting “We ignited the Intifada, with a stone and a knife,” making throat-slitting gestures.⁵
Israel is erased. Maps in the textbooks omit Israel entirely or label cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa as “Palestinian”.⁶ The curriculum frames the existence of Israel as “incompatible with justice”.¹
Terrorist figures are lauded. Dalal Mughrabi – behind the deadly 1978 Coastal Road massacre – is raised as a role model.³ The October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks are celebrated: attackers are called “symbols of pride” in classroom poems.³
Broken promises to reform. In 2024, the PA pledged to the European Union to align its curriculum with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance.¹ But IMPACT-se finds that the new “abridged curriculum” introduced for Gaza still reproduces antisemitic and violent content.7
Would We Fund This If It Targeted Anyone Else?
Imagine a school system funded by New Zealand whose textbooks glorified killing Māori, or demonised Pasifika, or taught that Muslims were inherently evil. There would be immediate, universal condemnation.
So why is the response so muted when the hatred is directed at Jews? The moral inconsistency is astonishing – and deeply troubling.
Humanitarian Aid Is Not a Blank Cheque
Many defend UNRWA funding by calling it “humanitarian”. But education is one of UNRWA’s largest expenditures, and UNRWA schools use the PA curriculum.¹
If we fund UNRWA, we are not just helping with food or shelter – we are supporting a school system that indoctrinates children into hatred, teaches martyrdom, and denies Israel’s legitimacy.
That should not be acceptable.
What New Zealand Must Do
New Zealand must demand accountability:
- Suspend UNRWA funding unless curriculum reforms can be independently verified.
- Require full compliance with UNESCO standards – removing antisemitic content, glorification of violence, and map erasure.
- Support independent monitoring of PA and UNRWA classroom environments.
- Publicly affirm that antisemitism and incitement in education are unacceptable, regardless of political context.
A Fundamental Moral Choice
For decades, billions of dollars have been poured into aid for Palestinian education – yet systematic indoctrination continues. IMPACT-se’s report shows how the PA curriculum still grooms children with hatred, not hope.
If New Zealand truly stands for peace, tolerance, and Jewish safety, we must refuse to fund hate. Not just in rhetoric – in policy.
Let us be clear: We cannot fund hate. Not against Jews. Not against anyone.
References
- Etgar Lefkovits, “Palestinian textbooks still glorify attacks against Israel, violating EU accord,” JNS, Nov. 19, 2025. LINK
- IMPACT-se, “UNRWA Education: Textbooks and Terror,” Nov. 2023. LINK
- Ailin Vilches Arguello, “New Gaza School Curriculum Promotes Antisemitism and Glorifies Hamas Attacks, Report Finds,” Algemeiner, Mar. 27, 2025. LINK
- Etgar Lefkovits, “Palestinian school curriculum glorifies violence, violating pledges to reform,” JNS, Mar. 25, 2025. LINK
- “Back to School: Gaza’s Educational Frameworks in the Shadow of War,” IMPACT-se / Jewish Virtual Library summary, Mar. 2025. LINK
- The Jerusalem Post reporting on the same IMPACT-se findings.LINK
- IMPACT-se, “Back to School: Gaza’s Educational Frameworks in the Shadow of War,” Mar. 2025. LINK
This article was originally published by the Israel Institute of New Zealand.
