Saudi Arabia removes negative references to Israel from the school curriculum

An attempt to improve relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) – Recently there has been a positive shift towards Israel in Saudi Arabian textbooks. Anti-Semitic sections have been removed from school textbooks for 2023-2024. Besides this, Saudi Arabia has removed the reference to calling Israel an ‘enemy country’ from the curriculum. This information has been published by an NGO called ‘IMPACT-se’, which monitors educational curricula in Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Saudi Arabia largely removes mention of Israel as an enemy nation from its school curriculum

Removes Palestine from school textbook maps – IMPACT-se reports#Geopolitics #WorldNews pic.twitter.com/iRSzRxNovJ

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) June 4, 2024

According to a report published by the organisation, Israel’s name still does not appear on maps in Saudi Arabia’s books. However, even the name Palestine has now been removed from the map.

According to the Times of Israel, Nimrod Goren, who heads Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, said, ‘It’s a small step that shows a change of narrative towards Israel, and showcases more tolerance and openness’.