A New York City public elementary school is being accused of “erasing Jews” after a map in one of its classrooms showed every country in the Middle East except Israel. Labeled Israel as Palestine.
The map, labeled “Arab World,” is installed in a classroom at PS 261 in Brooklyn, where Rita Lahoud teaches students lessons in the Arab Culture and Arts Program. The program is funded by the International Qatar Foundation, the American arm of the Qatar Foundation. A non-profit organization owned by the country's wealthy ruling family.
It was produced by Arab education company Luman and features Islamic landmarks from countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
At the school, the map is displayed under the heading “Arab World,'' with handwritten labels showing each country, except for Israel, which Mr. Lahoud labeled “Palestine.''
“We're not just experiencing Jewish hatred in New York City public schools, we're actually experiencing Jewish erasure,” says Pre-K through 5th grade instruction coordinator in New York City public schools. Tovah Prout, who serves as he told the Free Press.
“And this is proof of that.”
QFI shared a photo of the map in a since-deleted post by X and wrote, “Love seeing the #Arabic classroom decorations!” According to the Free Press.
But Mr Prout said the map was “troubling”.
“The fact that there are maps that don't represent the world as it really is is alarming,” she says.
“We are giving our children misinformation,” she continued, adding that the map is “an example of how we are instilling implicit bias in our children.”
“What it does is they internalize an inner, instinctive knowledge that this land belongs to the Arab world. It doesn't belong to anyone,” Plaut added. Prout is also the founder of the New York City Public Schools Alliance, a group of educators and parents fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of hate in city schools in the wake of the October Hamas attack, he said. added. .7 Attack on Israel.
“When a child embeds something at an early age, it becomes a belief. And beliefs are much harder to change than knowledge,” she said.
In a classroom displaying a map, Mr. Lahoud, a Palestinian American who was born in the United States, immigrated to the Middle East at the age of seven, and lived in Palestine and Saudi Arabia, is teaching a class on “Arab art and culture.'' . “world” in Arabic According to QFI Blog.
She blogged in November that she is passionate about teaching students about Arab culture:
“Even if my students do not become experts in Arabic or become fluent in Arabic, they will have a deep knowledge and respect for Arab culture and art. “Sho,” Lahoud said.
“This is extremely important in today's political and social climate,” she continued.
“Educational programs like ours can go a long way in changing perceptions and giving children the tools they need to challenge stereotypes.”
The newspaper has reached out to the New York City Department of Education and QFI for comment.
When asked for comment, PS 261's principal directed the post to be sent to the Department of Education.
But when Free Press asked the ministry if the maps were still published after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, a spokesperson responded, “Why not?” The outlet reports.
Spokesman Nathaniel Steyer reportedly added: “This is a map of Arabic-speaking countries.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed that QFI donated more than $1 million to the Ministry of Education from 2019 to 2022.
In 2019 and 2020, the organization donated more than $241,000 to fund bilingual Arabic programs at PS 261 and PS 30 in Brooklyn. According to the publication form.
The organization also donated more than $275,000 to the Department of Education in 2021, increasing that amount to more than $513,000 in 2022, but it is unclear how the funds were allocated.
