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Egypt Purging Antisemitic Content From School Textbooks, New Report Says
Israa Ali, the founder of “Ahfad Al Zaytoun” Olive Trees Initiative, a volunteer-run program that offers Gazan children in Egypt educational and mental health support after school, walks beside a Palestinian flag hung on a wall, in Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt has made significant progress in removing antisemitic and anti-Christian content from its school textbooks, and about 80 percent of Egyptian students in elementary or preparatory education are learning from the “reformed” versions, according to a new report published by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (Impact-se), an Israeli watchdog group.
The report, titled “Review of Changes and Remaining Problematic Content Egyptian Textbooks: Selected Samples 2023-2024,” explained that Egypt has been striving toward reducing antisemitism in its curricula for several years, having chosen to pursue a “year-on-year” process of reform which will reach higher grade levels over time.
The results so far have been promising. For example, 10 antisemitic passages identified by Impact-se researchers last academic year, including one in which Jews were described as “people of treachery and betrayal,” has been replaced with another “underlining tolerance and coexistence between Islam and Judaism.”
Other changes warrant optimism, according to the report. An 11th grade history textbook no longer teaches that Jews possess an inordinate “love of money,” and a third grade textbook on Islamic education no longer teaches that Jews cannot be trusted to describe the contents of their holy books, an accusation attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. Additionally, a sixth grade textbook now features what Impact-se described as a “rare specifically positive reference to Jews” in which the Constitution of Medina is said to be a shared accomplishment of Muslims and Jews while comparing it to the 1948 United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.
One reform the report strongly commended was the removal of some texts which encouraged jihad, martyrdom, and religious intolerance. Violence, one 11th grade textbook now says, was a measure of “last resort” in early Islamic conquests.
“Our report also found four problematic examples that have been removed, including a grade 5 Arabic Language grammar exercise teaching that Allah loves the jihad warrior, and a statement from the same textbook declaring that martyrs deserve a great reward,” Impact-se wrote. “A grade 6 Islamic Education textbook no longer glorifies the martyrdom of Muhammad’s Companion of Hamza for his jihad against many idolaters.”
Some concerning content in this vein remains, the authors noted, including the heralding of the martyr as “the most spectacular example of sacrifice” and a section of a grade 11 textbook in which Muhammad refers to “idolaters, Jews, and hypocrites.”
Alongside these lingering issues, however, Impact-se observed a softening of attitudes on gender roles, as evinced by the new curricula’s “promoting inclusivity and equality in gender roles” and “emphasizing the contribution of women in Egyptian society, politics, and Islamic history.” One sixth grade textbook even saidthat the Prophet Muhammad was an inveterate contributor to areas of household management thought to be exclusively the business of women, such as “sewing garments” and “mending sandals.” The new curricula also strongly condemns female genital mutilation, describing it as a desecration of “what God created” as well as cruel to women.
“We are delighted to see the ongoing reforms taking place in the Egyptian curricula, which mark significant progress,” Impact-se chief executive officer Marcus Sheff said in a statement announcing the findings of the report. “There are 25 million children in school in Egypt and around 80 percent are now studying this new material.The progress in revising materials for younger grades is extremely encouraging, especially in material regarding Jews and Israel.”
He continued, “We believe a similar evolution will be implemented in the curriculum for older grades. These changes in the most populous Arab country with a long-standing landmark peace agreement with Israel are of real importance to the region’s future.”
Impact-se’s research on school curricula in the Middle East has attempted in part to gauge states and other governmental entities’ intentions to foster peace and coexistence with the state of Israel, given that public education is the most active way in which countries manufacture the ideal kind of citizen.
In May, the group released a report revealing that Saudi Arabia has been quietly revising its school textbooks, scrubbing negative depictions of Jews, Christians, and homosexuals, and toning down rhetoric against Israel.
However, not all trends have been positive, and Impact-se has sometimes found disturbing trends.
Earlier this year, it issued a report describing the ways in which Palestinian curricula teach girls that women are inferior to men while demanding that they sacrifice their bodies and families for “jihad.” Coinciding with Women’s History Month, the report, titled “Gender Inequality in Palestinian Authority Textbooks,” revealed that Palestinian education materials deem women as a problem to be managed by the authority of religion and patriarchy, as valuable insofar as they contribute to the community’s population of terrorists and capacity to wage holy war.
Such ideas are ancillary to larger political goals, Impact-se explained. In denouncing women as transgressors of sexual morality and inherent sources of corruption, the Palestinian textbooks aim to rationalize subordinating women to men and limiting their role in public life. They also advocate dressing in accordance with Islamic law, women accepting fault for being sexually harassed and assaulted, and the notion that gender equality is a fiction. Palestinian schools also teach the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s saying, “Never will succeed such a nation that makes a woman” a head of state.
With all avenues for personal growth and achievement sealed off, what is left to Palestinian women is the option to commit violence, to become martyrs and the mothers of terrorists of the future, the report stated.
“The characterization of women as inferior in Palestinian Authority textbooks reflects a broader and worrying narrative of bigotry in the curriculum, which is continuing to shape the outlook millions of Palestinian children,” Sheff said at the time. “Furthermore, it contradicts international treaties on gender equality that the [Palestinian Authority] itself has ratified. In particular, the emphasis on women’s participation in resistance activities as a warped form of gender equality sets a disturbing precedent.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War
The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has replaced air defenses damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations.
During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Some of our air defenses were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure,” Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defense system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defense systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defenses in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
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Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding
Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Residents reported calm in Syria’s Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, “paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate.”
Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had “navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities”. “The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,” he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city’s residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. “The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,” he said by phone.
Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. “Houses are destroyed … The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical.
The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze.
Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
He has blamed the violence on “outlaw groups.”
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
COASTAL VIOLENCE
After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida.
He also said Israel would protect the Druze.
The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days.
A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered.
On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria’s coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces.
The presidency said it would review the inquiry’s conclusions and ensure steps to “bring about justice” and prevent the recurrence of “such violations.” It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings – if appropriate – as soon as possible.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people.
Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
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Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Pope Leo called for an end to the “barbarity of war” on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.
“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,” he said.
The post Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church first appeared on Algemeiner.com.