http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991007/aponline045227_000.htm
New History Taught in Israel
The Associated Press,
Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999; 4:52 a.m. EDT
JERUSALEM -- Israel's education minister has asked teachers to hold classroom discussions on a 1956 massacre of Arab
civilians by Israeli soldiers, saying it was part of an effort to change the way history is taught.
Education Minister Yossi Sarid has also introduced new history textbooks that challenge several widely accepted contentions,
such as that in the 1948 Mideast war, Jewish fighters were outnumbered by Arab armies.
The books have sparked an angry debate, with critics saying the texts contained major errors and undercut Israel's
negotiating positions in peace talks.
Sarid, a former social studies teacher, said in a statement Wednesday that he wants to introduce a more comprehensive
teaching of history, "even if it requires sensitive and sometimes painful introspection."
In a personal letter, Sarid asked all social studies teachers to commemorate the Oct. 29, 1956 massacre of 47 Arab civilians
in Kfar Kassem, a village in Israel.
At the time, a night curfew had been imposed on Israel's Arab citizens because of growing tensions between Israel and Egypt.
A group of laborers unaware of the curfew returned to Kfar Kassem after a day's work in the fields and were shot to death by
Israeli border policemen. The troops were later convicted of murder.
Sarid said students should be taught to distinguish between legal and illegal orders. Calling the massacre a stain on
Israel's history, he said that "we won't try to cover up the shame, but instead we shall cope with it openly and honestly."
(c) Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?id=57660&mador=1&datee=10/6/99
Wednesday, October 6, 1999
Beilin: State not responsible for Kafr Qasm massacre
Sarid asks teachers to talk about killing on 43rd anniversary
By Joseph Algazy and Dalia Shehori
KAFR QASM: Sorrow
A day after Prime Minister Ehud Barak expressed sorrow for the
suffering of the Palestinians, Education Minister Yossi Sarid yesterday
sent a letter to all civil studies teachers in the education establishment,
recommending that they mark the memorial day for the massacre in Kafr
Qasm.
"As education minister, but especially as a civil studies teacher, I feel
obligated to appeal to you as colleagues," Sarid wrote. In his letter, Sarid
retold the story of how soldiers, who claimed to be following orders to
enforce a curfew, opened fire at the villagers, killing 49 of them, including
15 women The government will not accept responsibility for the Kafr
Qasm massacre 43 years ago, in which IDF soldiers, contravening orders,
opened fire and killed 49 Arab villagers, Justice Minister Yossi Beilin said
yesterday. Beilin was responding to a demand by the chair of the Kafr
Qasm local council, Sami Issa, of the Islamic Movement, and of the
council's previous chair, Abd al Rahman Issa.
The two village leaders asked also that the government establish a state
committee to investigate the massacre. Beilin explained that since the
Israeli government then did not order the soldiers to fire at the villagers, it
could not accept responsibility for the killing. He proposed, however, that
the Arab leaders write an official letter to the government with the
request to establish the state committee.
Beilin, who was invited to participate in the memorial service on the
massacre's anniversary, said he would make an effort to attend, and
expressed his condolences to the residents of Kafr Qasm.
The current local council chair, Issa, expressed disappointment with
Beilin's answer. "Last year, Minister Moshe Katsav [Likud] attended the
memorial ceremony. If Beilin attends the ceremony, that in itself will be a
positive thing. But that is not enough. We want the government to take
responsibility for the massacre.
(c) copyright 1999 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
