S.Amdt. 5662

1. Adds SEC. 1262. PEACE AND TOLERANCE IN PALESTINIAN EDUCATION at the end of subtitle E of title XII

   Adds a section

   In S.Amdt. 5499 as proposed

   (4) North Africa.

   Inserted: SEC. 1262. PEACE AND TOLERANCE IN PALESTINIAN EDUCATION.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published a modified curriculum for school-aged children in grades 1 through 11.

   Inserted: (2) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza include graphics portraying violence against Israeli soldiers, positive portrayals of individuals who have committed attacks against citizens of Israel, and references to Palestinian efforts to target the "Zionists".

   Inserted: (3) Palestinian Authority textbooks are used at schools sponsored by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East because the schools use the textbooks of the host government.

   Inserted: (4) On April 26, 2018, the Government Accountability Office published a report that found the following:

   Inserted: (A) Textbooks in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority feature inaccurate and misleading maps of the region and include militaristic, adversarial imagery and content that incites hatred.

   Inserted: (B) The Department of State raised with Palestinian officials the objectionable content in the textbooks, including a specific math problem using the number of Palestinian casualties in the First and Second Intifadas.

   Inserted: (C) In its review of such textbooks, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East identified content not aligned with United Nations values. The majority of content so identified presents problematic issues relating to neutrality or bias, including issues relating to maps and references to Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

   Inserted: (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the Palestinian Authority has not sufficiently eliminated from the curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority content that encourages violence or intolerance toward other countries and ethnic groups.

   Inserted: (c) Reports.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report reviewing the curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority or located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity--

   Show 10 more inserted paragraphsShow less

   Inserted: (A) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and

   Inserted: (B) during each of the 2 years following the submission of the initial report under subparagraph (A), not later than 90 days after the date on which a new school year begins for schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

   Inserted: (2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:

   Inserted: (A) A determination as to whether the curriculum reviewed contains content that encourages violence or intolerance toward other countries or ethnic groups, and a detailed explanation of the reasons for reaching such determination.

   Inserted: (B) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority is taking to reform curriculum containing such content at schools so as to conform with standards of peace and tolerance in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance adopted by member countries of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization on November 16, 1995.

   Inserted: (C) A determination as to whether United States foreign assistance is used, directly or indirectly, to fund the dissemination of such curriculum by the Palestinian Authority.

   Inserted: (D) A detailed report on the manner in which United States assistance is being used to address curriculum that encourages violence or intolerance toward other countries or ethnic groups.

   Inserted: (E) A detailed report on United States diplomatic efforts, during the 5-year period preceding the date on which the report is submitted, to encourage peace and tolerance in Palestinian education.

   Inserted: (F) If any diplomatic effort referred to in subparagraph (E) was terminated by the Secretary of State, the reasons for such termination.

   Inserted: (3) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make each report required by paragraph (1) available to the public on a publicly accessible internet website of the Department of State.

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

Read automatically from the Congressional Record. Check the original before relying on it.

As printed