Subsidizing the Curriculum of Hate

The self-perpetuating bureaucracy in Brussels and Berlin has perfected the art of funding its own illusions. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Palestinian territories, where Western development aid flows directly into a school system that uses the October 7, 2023 massacres to teach basic arithmetic to children.

According to a recent report by Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli research institute, elementary school teachers under the authority of the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA have integrated murder and terrorism into daily lessons. In one math exercise, pupils were asked to calculate total casualties by multiplying 150 dead Israelis per day over nine days. When a student correctly calculated 1,350 victims, the teacher added a glowing note praising the child and invoking divine protection. Another problem asked students to compute how many Al-Qassam Brigade fighters entered nine settlements if 150 were dispatched to each, earning the respondent praise as a champion of victory.

This is not a sudden aberration. Back in 2020, the British research institute IMPACT-SE examined all 170 textbooks used in Palestinian classrooms and concluded that every single one violated UNESCO’s baseline standards. Fifth-grade materials informed young minds that holy war against Jews and infidels, alongside martyrdom, represented the ultimate meaning of human existence, urging pupils to emulate suicide bombers. Murder and torture are openly portrayed to students as sources of joy.

When the atrocities of October 7 occurred, Germany, the United States, and several European partners briefly paused financial assistance, demanding that the Palestinian Authority purge its curriculum of inciteful content. The authority promptly offered assurances, and the financial spigots were reopened. Yet, as both Palestinian Media Watch and IMPACT-SE document, those promised reforms never materialised.

The political establishment in Berlin remains eager to sign the checks regardless. For the 2025/2026 period alone, Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has earmarked 158 million euros for Palestinian projects, focused primarily on educational facilities. The money flows, accountability remains non-existent, and German citizens pay for a system that actively undermines peace.

The European Parliament did manage to pass a resolution in May acknowledging a persistent failure to eliminate problematic content from Palestinian schoolbooks. True to form for the Brussels apparatus, the resolution was entirely devoid of consequences. The machinery functions for its own political posture rather than for tangible outcomes, leaving taxpayers to fund an educational environment designed to nurture a permanent desire for annihilation.

While Western political leaders congratulate themselves on their humanitarian commitments, the reality on the ground remains unvarnished. The funding of Palestinian education without oversight is not just bad policy; it reflects a broader weakness in governance where symbols matter more than substance, and hard-earned foreign aid is squandered without a second thought.

Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com