Survey: Charedi textbooks ‘demonise Reform Jews’

Textbooks in Israeli Charedi schools demonise Reform Jews, show limited acceptance of others and keep contact with mainstream Israeli culture to a minimum, according to a new survey.

The Israeli-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (Impact-se) analysed 93 textbooks used in the strictly Orthodox system.

Curricula oppose modernity, instead promoting “a separate cultural identity”, which ignores trends in general society.

Marcus Sheff, Impact-se’s chief executive, commented there was “a general commitment to peaceful conduct and co-existence” and “despite what we are seeing on the streets of Israel recently, there is no incitement to violence in the textbooks”.