The October 7, 2023 horrific Palestinian terrorism was committed by graduates of the hate-driven K-12 Palestinian school curriculum, which has been a most effective production-line of terrorists, since it was established in 1993 by Mahmoud Abbas. 

The tightly controlled Palestinian school curriculum, as well as the official Palestinian mosque sermons, constitute the most authentic reflection of the Palestinian culture, aspirations, strategy and policy.

In contrast, the UAE school curriculum was thoroughly overhauled since the conclusion of the 2020 peace accord with Israel, highlighting peaceful coexistence, and reflecting the peace-driven vision of the UAE.

Likewise, the substantial expansion of Saudi-Israeli defense and commercial cooperation has reflected the game-changing moderation of the Saudi school curriculum. 

It has been introduced by Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman in defiance of severe domestic opposition – including within the ruling family – with which the ruling families of the UAE do not have to contend. More on the Saudi school curriculum at the end of this article. 

In contrast to the oppression of women by Iran’s Ayatollahs, the Saudi Crown Prince has also introduced a dramatic enhancement in the status of women, despite the strident opposition by the fundamentalist, puritan Wahabi establishment, whose support has been critical to the domestic legitimacy of the House of Saud.

Middle East reality has demonstrated a direct correlation between the intensity of hate education and mosque incitement, on the one hand, and the level of violence, terrorism and hostility toward the Western and Jewish “infidels,” on the other hand. 

The State Department’s policy toward the Palestinian Authority and Iran’s Ayatollahs has been largely based on their moderate talk – when communicating with Western movers and shakers – while taking lightly their walk, that has also been reflected by hate education and mosque incitement, which have been consistent with the 1964 Charter of the PLO (which controls the Palestinian Authority) and the 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

While the State Department has pressured the pro-US Saudi Arabia to soften its wars on Moslem Brotherhood Sunni terrorism and Houthi Shiite terrorism – by restricting the sale of advanced military systems – it has extended annual foreign aid to the anti-US Palestinian Authority – and to UNRWA which funds much of the Palestinian hate education system – and has showered the anti-US Ayatollahs with mega billion of dollars, irrespective of the Iranian and Palestinian hate education and mosque incitement. 

According to the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE), the 2023/24 Saudi school curriculum “shows continued progress toward moderation, openness, and peaceful development through a step-by-step process…. 

Negative portrayals of infidels and polytheists have been toned down and decreased in number…. All problematic examples promoting jihad and martyrdom have been removed or altered. Considerable improvements in regards to gender have been made…. Removed examples include a statement that women must obey their husbands, a prohibition to appoint women as judges, and insinuations that women are partly to blame for being harassed. The contribution of women to Saudi society is emphasized…. Significant amounts of homophobic content have been removed…. Portrayals of Israel and Zionism have progressed further. 

Students no longer learn content which defines Zionism as a ‘racist’ European movement that aims to expel Palestinians, or that Zionism’s ‘fundamental goal’ is to expand its borders and take over Arab lands, oil wells and Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem… or accusing Zionists of the 1969 al-Aqsa Mosque arson…. In some instances, the name ‘Palestine’ which featured across the entirety of Israeli territory, has been systematically removed… leaving the territory unnamed….  [However], the Holocaust is absent from the curriculum, and Israel is still referred to as ‘the Israeli occupation’ or ‘Israeli occupiers’ in the context of the 1948 War. Several problematic examples still appear in some textbooks….” 

The State Department’s tolerance of Palestinian and Iranian hate education – while pressuring Saudi Arabia – has provided tailwind to anti-US Islamic terrorism, undermining the stability of all pro-US Arab regimes and the pursuit of peace. It has injured the posture of the US as a reliable ally, and could cause a setback to the US economy and national and homeland security.