The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Israeli History Textbooks, 1948-2000

Israeli history textbooks in the past contained many biases, distortions, and omissions concerning the depiction of Arabs and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today these misrepresentations are gradually being corrected. This study encourages the depiction of a balanced portrait in all textbooks. By reviewing curricula and textbooks used in the Israeli educational system since the establishment of Israel, the author assesses the impact of Zionist historiography and the Zeitgeist on the portrayal of Arabs in textbooks. The study unravels the biases, distortions, omissions, and stereotypes through the analysis of several major historical events such as the 1948 war, the refugee question, the 1967 war, and the peace process. Annotation. Israeli history textbooks in the past contained many biases, distortions, and omissions concerning the depiction of Arabs and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today these misrepresentations are gradually being corrected. This study encourages the depiction of a balanced portrait in all textbooks. By reviewing curricula and textbooks used in the Israeli educational system since the establishment of Israel, the author assesses the impact of Zionist historiography and the Zeitgeist on the portrayal of Arabs in textbooks. The study unravels the biases, distortions, omissions, and stereotypes through the analysis of several major historical events such as the 1948 war, the refugee question, the 1967 war, and the peace process Israeli history textbooks in the past contained many biases, distortions, and omissions concerning the depiction of Arabs and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Today these misrepresentations are gradually being corrected. By reviewing curricula and textbooks used in the Israeli educational system since the establishment of Isreal, the author shows how the Israeli educational system, and particularly history textbooks, have presented the image of the Arab and the history of Arab-Israeli relations in the years from 1948 to 2000, and how the trend is to provide a more balanced portrait of the other side. encourages the depiction of a balanced portrait in all textbooks It is common knowledge that school textbooks in social sciences and humanities do not merely convey an objective body of information.