With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

German, Israeli historians to study how textbooks portray each country

Israel and Germany have agreed recently to establish a joint committee to study how school textbooks in each of the countries portrays the other country.

"It is important that students in Israel learn about modern Germany, until and after reunification, and for us it is an opportunity to present Israel to German students in various aspects, not only the Palestinian conflict," Ilan Mor, former political attache at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, said.

Mor is one of the founders of the initiative, which is expected to begin on the German side at the end of this year. In November 2008 the German parliament passed a resolution that the German government would fight anti-Semitism more vigorously, including education toward greater awareness of the Jewish faith and culture as well as of "modern Israel."

The decision was the catalyst for the establishment of the joint committee for the study of the school books.
Read entire article at Haaretz