Report: French textbooks overemphasize antisemitism and Jewish victimhood, show 'notable gaps' on Zionism

With the second largest Jewish community in the diaspora living in France, getting education right when it comes to the Jewish people and the history of antisemitism is more important than ever.

To this end, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) has made a thorough review of school books from eight European countries, highlighting key areas for improvement in the French curriculum.

The Jerusalem Post reported that French textbooks do adhere to UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance in education for the most part, and that overall, the material addressing the subject of Israel is presented in a positive light.

Being Jewish in France has long been a challenge – the Dreyfus Affair being a particularly glaring example. Now with levels of antisemitism rising sky high, IMPACT-se has issued a series recommendations in their report published earlier this month.

The Holocaust was covered in “considerable detail” and standards found to be generally high in the French school books studied, but they “fall short of providing a comprehensive background on the broader historical and existential necessity for the creation of the State of Israel,” according to the report. 

“Textbooks tend to focus heavily on the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional tensions, often overlooking the historical Jewish connection to the land and the impact of the Holocaust on the founding of the state,” the reviewers stated. The use of Israel’s Declaration of Independence was recommended as a primary source document and an "effective pedagogical tool."

The coverage of Jewish historical events in textbooks focused "disproportionately" on antisemitism and persecution, emphasizing victimhood when dealing with subjects such as the Dreyfus Affair and the Holocaust. The report suggested that this focus on Jewish suffering "risks reducing Jewish history to a narrative of oppression and exclusion," and urged a fuller picture of Jewish life and history in France.

IMPACT-se found “notable gaps in discussions of Zionism,” such as the absence of discussion around the “diverse ideological strands” within Zionism and within Israel’s sociopolitical makeup. “This restricts a comprehensive understanding of the complexity of Israeli identity,” the report stated. They also voiced concern about the use of terms such as “Zionist settlers”, which can be “misleading” and “carry unintended political implications.”

With some 440,000 Jewish people living in France, the manifestation of current forms of antisemitism, including conspiracy theories, was considered to be of critical importance. Textbooks only offered "limited or superficial examples" which "often fail to engage with more recent and severe manifestations of antisemitism, such as the rise in hate crimes."

Exploration of the ongoing realities of discrimination and terrorist attacks targeting Jewish communities were also missing in the material, giving a limited picture of the evolving nature of antisemitism.

The report had many points of praise for the French curriculum, expressing appreciation of the discussion of Nazi ideology and the inclusion of personal accounts, humanizing Jewish victims and fostering empathy among students. It also commended the treatment of the post-World War II geopolitical reordering and subsequent decolonization movements.

IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff told The Jerusalem Post, "We conveyed to the French Ministry of Education our findings that, generally, the portrayal of Jews and Judaism was well done," he said. "However, we did communicate that no curriculum is perfect, and that there is clearly room for more."

"It is a necessity to talk a bit more about Jews as part of the French fabric," said Sheff, adding that it was important to teach "not just about just how Jews died but how Jews lived."