[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5662. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 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 E of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1262. PEACE AND TOLERANCE IN PALESTINIAN EDUCATION.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In 2016 and 2017, the Palestinian Authority published a
modified curriculum 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 incites 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) In its review of such textbooks, the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East identified content not aligned with United Nations
values. The majority of content so identified presents
problematic issues relating to neutrality or bias, including
issues relating 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
from the curriculum used in schools in areas controlled by
the Palestinian Authority content that encourages violence or
intolerance toward other countries and ethnic groups.
(c) Reports.--
(1) In general.--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 the curriculum used in schools in areas
controlled by the Palestinian Authority or located in Gaza
and controlled by any other entity--
(A) not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act; and
(B) during each of the 2 years following the submission of
the initial report under subparagraph (A), not later than 90
days after the date on which a new school year begins for
schools in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
(2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) A determination as to whether the curriculum reviewed
contains content that encourages 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 so as to conform with standards of peace and
tolerance in the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance
adopted by member countries of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization on
November 16, 1995.
(C) A determination as to 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 the manner in which United States
assistance is being used to address curriculum that
encourages violence or intolerance toward other countries 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 effort referred to in subparagraph
(E) was terminated by the Secretary of State, the reasons for
such termination.
(3) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make each
report required by paragraph (1) available to the public on a
publicly accessible internet website of the Department of
State.
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