The sun rises in the east. Ryan Gosling is dreamy to women everywhere. Israelis and Palestinians aren't fans of one another. All of these are basic facts of life.
Which is why it's no surprise a recent study reports Palestinian and Israeli textbooks aren't always completely truthful or fair when recounting history between the two.
According to the New York Times, Hamas has modified Palestinian textbooks, and are more egregious--refusing to recognize modern Israel, ignoring the Oslo Peace Accord signed by Palestinian and Israeli leaders in the 1990s, describing the Jewish Torah and Talmund as "fabricated," and labeling Zionism as a racist movement whose aim is to drive all Arabs out of the Middle East.
Israel isn't entirely truthful either. The same study suggests their textbooks are equally culpable for portraying Palestine as an enemy, using misinformed historical maps, and lacking facts about Palestinian religion, culture, and daily life.
The result is that a new generation of students in Israel and Palestine will grow up with misinformed, misguided, and misled beliefs about the other side.
But, hey, at least Ryan Gosling is gorgeous, right?
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