PA summer camps
teach terror and Martyrdom-death for kids
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Kids enact terror attacks
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Terrorist murderers presented as role
models
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Kids' plays show terrorist stabbers
being shot by "Israelis" and dying as "Martyrs"
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Kids taught to see world in which
"Palestine" erases all of Israel
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The National Committee for Summer Camps,
which organized some of these camps, received 2,928,000 shekels in 2017 from the
PA Budget
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UNICEF and UNDP listed among "partners
and supporters" of the National Committee for Summer
Camps
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques
Zilberdik
Many
Palestinian children participated this summer in camps that promoted hate,
terror, Martyrdom-death and denial of the existence of Israel. The camps were
organized by the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs and the PA's
National Committee for Summer Camps, both of which are funded by the PA Budget.
On its Facebook page, the National Committee for Summer Camps has listed itself
as a "governmental organization." In Arabic it defines itself as "a governmental
institution for children aged 6-12 years with recreational activities aimed to
develop the Palestinian child in various fields."
Among the "partners and supporters," listed on the website of the PA's
National Committee for Summer Camps, are UNICEF and UNDP (accessed Aug. 30,
2017).
Glorifying terror, terrorists, Martyrdom-death for kids, and
non-recognition of Israel's existence
The PA's summer camp
messages to children included glorifying terror, venerating Martyrdom-death, and
picturing a world without Israel in which all Israel has become "Palestine."
Camp activities included children performing plays in which the children
depicted Palestinian stabbers carrying out terror attacks and being shot and
killed by "Israelis," and dying as honored "Martyrs." Children created
sculptures and drawings of the map of "Palestine," which includes all of Israel
in addition to the PA areas, encouraging children to disregard the existence of
Israel and foresee a world without it. Children were taught that Palestine's
border to the north is Lebanon and to the south is the Gulf of Aqaba, again
depicting a world in which "Palestine" has replaced Israel.
This report
documents how the PA and the PLO transmitted these hate messages to Palestinian
children through its summer camps.
Glorifying terror and
Martyrdom-death through enactments of terror attacks
At a camp
organized by the PA-funded National Committee for Summer Camps, children
performed a mock stabbing terror attack at the closing ceremony of the camp.
The first photo shows a girl wearing an Arab
headdress and playing the part of a terrorist, as she faces off against a boy
playing an Israeli. The second and third photos show the Palestinian girl "dead"
on the ground with a knife in her hand after the "Israelis" who "shot" her
standing next to her. The fourth photo shows a number of children standing
behind the terrorist "Martyr" lying on the ground with a Palestinian flag draped
over her, as is common practice at the funeral of "Martyrs."
[Facebook page of the National
Committee for Summer Camps, Aug. 3, 2017]
The PA's National Committee
for Summer Camps also posted photos from a similar play performed by children at
another camp:
One photo shows two girls posing with
toy assault rifles (below right), while another shows a scene from a children's
play enacting a stabbing attack (below left). Three girls are wearing Israeli
flags on their shirts, playing the role of Israelis. One is lying on the floor,
presumably after being stabbed, while the other two are aiming toy assault
rifles at two Palestinians wearing Palestinian flags on their shirts and who are
lying "dead" as "Martyrs" on the ground with knives in their hands, "killed" by
the Israelis.
[Facebook page of the National
Committee for Summer Camps, Aug. 8, 2017]
Kids taught to honor terrorist murderers
In another
camp, under the supervision of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth
Affairs, the children were divided into groups some of which were given the
names of terrorist murderers:
"With the approach of the conclusion of the
summer camps and the preparations for the central closing ceremony that the
[PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs will hold in Ramallah, the
activities are continuing... in the Jericho district in 11 camps, including...
the summer camp organized by the Ein Al-Sultan Center, whose groups are named
after Martyr leaders Yasser Arafat, Ghassan Kanafani (i.e., a PFLP
terror leader), Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them
children), Khalil Al-Wazir (i.e., terrorist responsible for attacks in which 125
Israelis were murdered), and Laila Khaled (i.e., PFLP terrorist and plane
hijacker)."
[Official PA dailyAl-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 9, 2017]
Teaching kids all of Israel is "Palestine"
in drawings and sculptures
At one camp organized by the National
Committee for Summer Camps, children built a large sculpture in the shape of the
PA's map of "Palestine" which erases the existence of Israel. The sculpture was
painted in the colors of the Palestinian flag, symbolizing Palestinian political
sovereignty over all of Israel in addition to the PA areas. A large key
represented the so-called "right of return" of Palestinian refugees to
Israel.
Posted text: "From raw materials
in the surroundings, the boys and girls of hope create the map of the
homeland"
[Facebook page of the National
Committee for Summer Camps, Aug. 4, 2017]
At another camp organized
by the National Committee for Summer Camps, a drawing of the PA's map of
"Palestine" was accompanied by the following text, emphasizing both in pictures
and in "data" that there is no State of Israel:
Text next to
map: "Palestine
Location: The continent of Asia, eastern coast of
the Mediterranean Sea
Territory: 27,009 square kilometers (the combined
size of Israel and the PA areas is roughly 27,000 square kilometers
-Ed.)
Borders of Palestine: Lebanon on the
north
The Gulf of Aqaba and Egypt on the
south
Jordan on the east
The Mediterranean Sea on the west"
[Posted on the Facebook page of the
National Committee for Summer Camps, Aug. 2, 2017]
Significantly,
the text's alternative "facts" reiterate the PA message that Israel doesn't
exist or will not exist in the future. The description of "Palestine's"
territory as 27,009 square kilometers includes the area of all of Israel in
addition to the PA areas. The West Bank and Gaza together are 6,220 square
kilometers. The description of "Palestine's" borders is also wrong, as it
is Israel that borders Lebanon and the Gulf of Aqaba. Palestinian
children are taught by the PA not to recognize Israel's existence.
Photos from another camp posted on Facebook by the PLO Supreme Council
for Sport and Youth Affairs showed a large map of "Palestine" that erased Israel
painted by girls in the camp:
Posted text: "Pictures from the
summer camps of 2017
The Wonderful [Girls] of Palestine [Summer]
Camp
Asira Al-Shimaliya - Nablus"
[Facebook page of the PLO Supreme
Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Aug. 7, 2017]
Similarly,
children at another camp made the PA's map of "Palestine" with stones:
Posted text: "Pictures from the
summer camps of 2017
The Pioneers of Al-Aqsa Summer Camp
Aqabat Jaber refugee camp - Jericho"
[Facebook page of the PLO Supreme
Council for Sport and Youth, Aug. 4, 2017]
One of the significant
ways in which the PA denies Israel's right to exist in any borders, is by
referring to the entire State of Israel as an "occupation." In one summer camp
the campers were divided into groups named after Israeli cities Haifa, Jaffa,
Acre, Tiberias, and Nazareth, which were said to be in "occupied" Palestinian
land:
Posted text: "In Jericho, a
visit was held at the We Will Advance Together [Summer] Camp...The campers were
divided into groups bearing the names of cities from the occupied Palestinian
Interior (i.e., Palestinian term for Israel), such as: Haifa, Jaffa, Acre,
Tiberias, and Nazareth."
[Facebook page of the PLO Supreme
Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Aug. 2, 2017]
Similarly, a
drawing at another camp showed a Palestinian flag dripping with blood with the
Dome of the Rock above it and the outline of the PA map of "Palestine" (to the
right) that presents all of Israel as "Palestine." To assure that the children
received the message that there is no country named Israel, the text on the map
states: "We are all a unified homeland." The names of Palestinian cities are
written around the map as well as the names of Israeli cities including:
"Jaffa," "Acre," "Tal Al-Rabia (i.e., Tel Aviv)," "Haifa," "Beit Shean," and
"Tiberias."
[Facebook page of the National
Committee for Summer Camps, Aug. 8, 2017]
All of these messages - glorification of terror and terrorists, promotion
of Martyrdom-death, and presenting a world in which Israel doesn't exist and/or
has no right to exist are fundamental Palestinian Authority messages to
Palestinians. These messages are transmitted to Palestinian children in formal
education, educational television, cultural events, sports and much more. It is
therefore not surprising that summer camps, which are funded by the PA are
disseminating the same hate messages.
PMW has documented that it is
PA policy to educate children to see terrorists
and murderers as role models. As part of this ideology, the PA Ministry of
Education has named at least 30 schools after terrorists, and PMW has shown
that the message is effective and youth aspire to "follow the path" of the terrorists.
The following is a longer excerpt from one of the sources
cited above:
Headline: "A mass-participant ceremony on
Thursday for the conclusion of the summer camps in Ramallah"
"With the approach of the conclusion of the
summer camps and the preparations for the central closing ceremony that the
[PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs will hold in Ramallah, the
activities are continuing vigorously and with an unprecedented response from
civil society... The activities, meetings,
conferences, and lectures are continuing in the Jericho district in 11 camps,
including... the summer camp organized by the Ein Al-Sultan Center, whose groups
are named after Martyr (Shahid) leaders Yasser Arafat, Ghassan Kanafani (i.e., a PFLP
terror leader), Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, 12 of them
children), Khalil Al-Wazir (i.e., terrorist responsible for attacks in which 125
Israelis were murdered), and Laila Khaled (i.e., PFLP terrorist and plane
hijacker)."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat
Al-Jadida, Aug. 9, 2017]
Ghassan Kanafani
- a writer and a leader of the terror organization Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Dalal Mughrabi
led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history, known as the Coastal Road
massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on
Israel's Coastal Highway, murdering 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and
wounding over 70.
Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) -
was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror
organization's military wing and also planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks
in the 1960's - 1980's. These attacks, which murdered a total of 125 Israelis,
included the most lethal in Israeli history - the hijacking of a bus and murder
of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
Laila
Khaled - PFLP terrorist who participated in the hijacking of TWA flight
840 from Rome to Athens on Aug. 29, 1969 and the hijacking of El Al flight 219
from Amsterdam to New York on Sept. 6, 1970. The second hijacking was averted by
the pilot and security personnel on board. They shot Khaled's accomplice,
Patrick Argüello, who had murdered one of the flight attendants. Khaled was
overpowered and the plane landed in London, where Khaled was handed over and
held by British police until she was exchanged on Oct. 1, 1970 for hostages held
by the PFLP.
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