JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

• Share
• Email
• Print

‘Nakba’ removed from textbooks

July 23, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- "Nakba," the Arabic term meaning "catastrophe" used to describe the creation of the state of Israel, will be removed from school textbooks.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Israel's Education Ministry.

The term was approved for use in a textbook for Arab-Israeli schools in 2007. 

 "After studying the matter with education experts, it was decided that the term nakba should be removed," Yisrael Twito, a spokesman for Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, told Ha'aretz. "It is inconceivable that in Israel we would talk about the establishment of the state as a catastrophe." 

Click to login and write a letter to the editor or register for a new account.

This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Donate to JTA now.