By Michael Felsen* | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BOSTON (IDN | CGNews) – Like so much else that touches on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a just-released three-year-long study of how textbooks on both sides portray the “other” has provoked a firestorm of controversy.
The fruit of a seed first planted in 2008 by a post-Annapolis Conference committee of Israelis and Palestinians dedicated to promoting education on tolerance, building a culture of peace, and preventing incitement, the study has succeeded in generating more heat than light, at least as far as the Israeli government is concerned. But a closer look suggests there is much to be learned – both from the study and from the responses to it.