Reply #1: article cont'd... [View All]

1. Who they target – adults vs. children

When an Imam or politician preaches hate to an adult audience, those assembled generally have the ability to assess the speech and make their own judgments regarding its veracity. Conversely, when children’s TV shows, textbooks, etc. teach young Palestinians that Israelis have no historical ties to the land, that Jews are evil, that terrorism is justified, etc., the children targeted are being brainwashed to believe what they are being taught. Unlike adults, they are not yet able to assess the quality of information being fed to them. They become the unwitting vessels of the poison being served. In this regard, indoctrination is an educational form of child abuse that is like statutory rape of the mind. It is a human-rights violation against which children’s rights activists should be up in arms.

2. The shelf life of the message – temporary vs. forever

Messages of incitement to adults can be turned on and off like a spigot, depending on the needs of the Palestinian governing body. Once youngsters are indoctrinated, however, they will likely believe the vile things they were taught for the rest of their lives, and act on them. Israel can make all the concessions requested of her tomorrow, yet an entire generation of Palestinians will still harbor the hatred they were spoon-fed to their dying days. Indoctrination is therefore a much greater threat than incitement to the long-term prospects for peace.

As a child of a Holocaust survivor, I have often questioned how so many people could be complicit in the murder of the six million. While there are no simple answers, it is clear that the groundwork for turning a normal society into murderers has to be carefully laid. All forms of propaganda have to be employed to dehumanize the victims and position them as threats to the society.

It is alarming to witness this type of groundwork being laid in the Palestinian territories over the past several years by official bodies and media outlets. When innocent Palestinian children watch their beloved Sesame Street-like TV characters brutally murdered by IDF soldiers, or spend time in summer camps and public squares named after suicide bombers, they are being carefully prepared to harbor lasting enmity and emulate perpetrators of terror.


This indoctrination is the start of a process that results in a culture of blind hatred. It has been allowed to flourish for far too long. Israeli government officials, including those involved in Netanyahu’s new program, must address the brainwashing of Palestinian children as a discrete and pressing issue in its own right.

True peace depends on it.