The Taoiseach has asked to see a report, conducted by an Israeli education organisation, on alleged “promotion” of anti-Semitism in Irish schoolbooks.
The report published late last year finds “concerning misrepresentations of the Holocaust, Judaism and Israel” in some schoolbooks at primary and second level.
Conducted by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (Impact-se), the report analysed primary and post-primary textbooks, focusing on history and religious education.
“The findings reveal a troubling pattern of trivialisation and minimisation of the Holocaust,” it says. “For instance, Auschwitz was referred to misleadingly as a ‘prisoner of war camp’, failing to acknowledge its role as a death camp where mass extermination occurred,” the report says.
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“Such descriptions dilute the historical and emotional gravity of the Holocaust, providing students with an incomplete understanding of this atrocity.”
It says “many narratives question the legitimacy of the state of Israel and undermine Jewish claims to indigeneity in the land”, while “discussions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often lack the necessary historical and political context, presenting a one-sided view that frames Israel as the sole aggressor”.
Impact-se is well regarded in Israel and the United States but faced criticism in 2022 from the United Nations, which called it “biased”, and in 2018 by then minister of state for international development in the British Conservative government, Alistair Burt, who said its research was “not objective”.
Among the Irish publishers whose schoolbooks Impact-se criticises are Educate.ie, Edco, Gill Education, and Veritas.
A junior cycle religious education textbook, Inspire – Wisdom for the world, published by Educate.ie, implies “Judaism believes engaging in violence and war is necessary to achieve justice. In so doing, it ignores the diverse teachings in Jewish texts that advocate for peace, justice,” says Impact-se.
A spokesman for Educate.ie said the book “highlights the importance of working to prevent anti-Semitism".
“For example, the material on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism on pages 396 to 399 explicitly stresses the importance of standing up against anti-Semitism. Inspire also includes many examples that cover the diverse teachings in Jewish texts that advocate for peace, justice and the sanctity of life,” he said, providing examples from the book.
A Leaving Certificate religious education book, Faith Seeking Understanding, published by Veritas, is “problematic”, says the report, because it labels the Auschwitz concentration camp by name only.
“Auschwitz was not merely a geographical location ... Failing to label the image as ‘Auschwitz Death Camp’ or at least ‘Auschwitz Concentration Camp’ fails to convey the horrific reality associated with the name.”
Veritas closed last year and could not be contacted for comment. Gill Education and Edco did not respond to requests for comment.
The Taoiseach’s office did not comment on the report, though confirmed Micheál Martin has sought a copy of it.
“During [a] meeting a report on the representation of Jews, Judaism and Israel in Irish school textbooks was raised. Following the meeting, the Taoiseach requested a copy of the report,” said a spokesman.
Maurice Cohen, chair of the Jewish Representative Council, said he had sought a meeting the Department of Education amid concerns from parents of the estimated 700 to 1,000 Jewish school-going children about “material that was offensive to Jewish people in our schoolbooks”.
“I was told I would receive a call within four days to arrange a meeting. The call never came,” said Mr Cohen.
“In recent times, the classroom has become a battleground for political messaging – particularly concerning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Teachers, like all citizens, are entitled to their views. But it becomes deeply problematic when those views are presented as fact to young minds.
“I have received many calls – not only from Jewish parents – expressing serious concern. Many people feel their children are being subjected to ideological messaging as early as five years old. They are right to be alarmed.”
A spokesman for the Department of Education said it had no role in the content of text books.
“The curriculum for students in Ireland, at both primary and post-primary level, is for all learners regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic background, gender, orientation or ethnicity.
“The curriculum specification and prescribed material for any subject are determined by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).”
Chief executive of the NCCA Arlene Forster said she was aware of the report.
“Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at post-primary level, it is the responsibility of each individual school to select the resources that it will use to support its implementation of the curriculum. The content of textbooks is decided by each publisher.”
Marcus Sheff, Impact-se chief executive, told The Irish Times that, given the report’s findings, “it can be no wonder that the [Irish] Jewish community feels increasingly worried and unsafe”.
The texts’ content “clearly promotes anti-Semitism” in classrooms, he said.
“It is therefore both sad and astonishing that Ireland’s Government has not engaged with these incredibly worrying findings, instead choosing to deflect or ignore the evidence entirely.” Mr Sheff is a former journalist and was briefly a reservist spokesman and media trainer with the Israel Defense Forces.
