[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 194 (Thursday, November 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7942-S7943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4446. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed 
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military

[[Page S7943]]

personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1283. REPORTS ON CURRICULUM USED IN SCHOOLS IN AREAS 
                   CONTROLLED BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND IN 
                   GAZA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published 
     modified curricula for school-aged children in grades 1 
     through 11.
       (2) Textbooks used by the Palestinian Authority in the West 
     Bank and Gaza include graphics portraying violence against 
     Israeli soldiers, positive portrayals of individuals who have 
     committed attacks against citizens of Israel, and references 
     to Palestinian efforts to target the ``Zionists''.
       (3) Palestinian Authority textbooks are used at schools 
     sponsored by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
     Palestine Refugees in the Near East because the schools use 
     the textbooks of the host government.
       (4) On April 26, 2018, the Government Accountability Office 
     published a report that found the following:
       (A) Textbooks in schools in areas controlled by the 
     Palestinian Authority feature inaccurate and misleading maps 
     of the region and include militaristic, adversarial imagery 
     and content that incite hatred.
       (B) The Department of State raised with Palestinian 
     officials the objectionable content in the textbooks, 
     including a specific math problem using the number of 
     Palestinian casualties in the First and Second Intifadas.
       (C) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
     Palestine Refugees in the Near East, in its review of the 
     textbooks, identified content not aligned with United Nations 
     values, the majority of which content related to neutrality 
     or bias issues, including issues related to maps and 
     references to Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Palestinian Authority has not sufficiently eliminated 
     content encouraging violence or intolerance toward other 
     countries or ethnic groups from the curriculum used in 
     schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
       (c) Reports Required.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 2 
     years in accordance with paragraph (4), the Secretary of 
     State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
     of Representatives a report reviewing curriculum used in 
     schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority or 
     located in Gaza and controlled by any other entity.
       (2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1) shall 
     include the following:
       (A) A determination of whether the curriculum reviewed 
     contains content encouraging violence or intolerance toward 
     other countries or ethnic groups, and a detailed explanation 
     of the reasons for reaching such determination.
       (B) An assessment of the steps the Palestinian Authority is 
     taking to reform curriculum containing such content at 
     schools to conform with standards of peace and tolerance in 
     the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance adopted by Member 
     States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 
     Cultural Organization on November 16, 1995.
       (C) A determination of whether United States foreign 
     assistance is used, directly or indirectly, to fund the 
     dissemination of such curriculum by the Palestinian 
     Authority.
       (D) A detailed report on how United States assistance is 
     being used to address curriculum that encourages violence or 
     intolerance toward other nations or ethnic groups.
       (E) A detailed report on United States diplomatic efforts, 
     during the 5-year period preceding the date on which the 
     report is submitted, to encourage peace and tolerance in 
     Palestinian education.
       (F) If any diplomatic efforts referred to in subparagraph 
     (E) were stopped by the Secretary of State, the reasons for 
     such stoppages.
       (3) Public availability.--The Secretary of State shall post 
     on a publicly available website of the Department of State 
     each report required by paragraph (1).
       (4) Subsequent deadlines.--Each report required by 
     paragraph (1), other than the first such report, shall be 
     submitted not later than 90 days after the date on which a 
     new school year begins for schools in areas controlled by the 
     Palestinian Authority.
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