Palestinian Authority-run schools actively celebrated the October 7 pogrom of 2023—even incorporating support for them into the academic curriculum.
A new report shows how PA schools themselves presented the attacks to Palestinian schoolchildren. The recorded pattern of advocacy for antisemitic violence comes not from a few rogue teachers, but from official materials distributed by the schools themselves.
PA monitoring research group Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has published a breakdown of how school assemblies, classroom activities, and even mathematics exercises were used to commemorate the wave of lethal, Hamas-led violence which crossed over from Gaza to Israel.
Mathematics questions included:
- “At least 150 Israelis were killed on one day [Oct. 7]. What was the number killed in nine days? “Solution: 9 × 150 = 1,350 dead.”
- “Hamas sent 150 jihad fighters to each of the nine settlements in Israel. How many jihad fighters entered all the settlements?” “Answer: 1,350 jihad fighters.”
On documents seen by PMW, a teacher responded to a ‘correct’ answer with: “Excellent! May Allah protect you!”
Separately, multiple school assemblies were found to have glorified terrorism and martyrdom, whether through the direct addresses made by teachers or through such activities as contests for writing and reciting poetry.
According to the PMW,
We believe the material documented in this report is highly relevant to current discussions surrounding Palestinian Authority reform, education, and the role of the PA in shaping attitudes toward terrorism and Israel.
Report: Palestinian Media Watch—How PA Schools Celebrated October 7 calls for the PA to replace all Ministry of Education directors, officials, and pro-terror school principals. From here international supervision—from the bodies and states that often fund the PA—should oversee restructuring primary and secondary education so this can never happen again.
