The New York Times · New York, NY · 8 July 1967

CP-1967-066

Israel to Reopen Schools in Occupied Territories

But Anti-Jewish Material in Books and on Walls Will Be Eliminated First

By TERENCE SMITH / Special to The New York Times

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Transcribed from the clipping

TEL AVIV, July 7—Israel intends to reopen the Arab schools in her newly occupied territories, but only after ridding them of all traces of anti-Israeli propaganda. Israeli troops who captured the major towns in the Gaza Strip reported finding virulent anti-Israeli material in the textbooks and defamatory murals on the school walls.

The Israelis also said they found a lesser amount of propaganda in Jordanian schools in the west-bank area. The military officer in charge of civilian affairs in the occupied territories said the schools would be opened in the fall, but that the offending textbooks would be removed and the walls repainted to cover the anti-Israeli drawings.

The most extreme examples of propaganda, according to the Israelis, were discovered in the schools in Gaza, where the Palestine Liberation Organization was most active. Drawings on Walls The troops who took the town of Khan Yunis, near the southern end of the Gaza strip, reported that the walls of the main elementary school there were covered with drawings.

In a room that served as an art class for youngsters in the second and third grades, the soldiers reported finding a mural, apparently painted by the teachers and students, that depicted a Zionist Jew with a huge nose, being bayonetted by a handsome Arab soldier. Another mural was said to show a Zionist Jew assaulting an Arab woman while Arab refugees looked on in horror.

In textbooks used in Gaza to teach arithmetic to third-grade students, the Israelis said they found problems with political overtones.

An Israeli officer said one problem posed the following situation: "If 10 Fedayeen [Arab terrorists] cross the border into Israel and kill 20 Zionists, what is the average number of Jews killed by each Feydayeen?" "We've known about these anti-Israeli textbooks for some time," the officer said, "and we have made protests to the United Nations over the years about their use.

But the murals were a surprise to us." The Israelis will also attempt to weed out extremist teachers from the Arab schools. A survey has already been started to determine how many qualified teachers are still in the occupied areas and the condition of the school buildings, many of which were damaged during the fighting.

The plan to reopen the schools is one of several steps the Israelis are taking to make life in the occupied areas normal.

How this transcription was made

Date confirmed on the page (masthead).

Context added by this archive

SCHOOLBOOKS THREAD — the earliest clipping in the thread (8 July 1967, a month after the war) and the one that matters most for the 'anti-Jewish' question. THE DECK IS THE FINDING: 'But Anti-Jewish Material in Books and on Walls Will Be Eliminated First.' That is The New York Times speaking in its own voice, in its own deck, over a staff-written story.

The body of the story never uses 'anti-Jewish' — it says 'anti-Israeli propaganda', 'anti-Israeli material', 'anti-Israeli drawings', five times over, and attributes every instance to Israeli troops, Israeli officers or 'the Israelis'. The deck converts attributed 'anti-Israeli' into unattributed 'Anti-Jewish'.

That is the same slide Maria flagged on slide 112, happening here first, in the paper of record, over a staff byline — and here it is cleaner, because you can see the body text the deck departs from. If only one clipping in this batch carries the argument, it is this one, paired with s112_2.

Who is censoring: the military officer in charge of civilian affairs in the occupied territories; offending textbooks removed, walls repainted, 'extremist teachers' to be weeded out. Whose voice: the reporting is scrupulously attributed throughout ('Israeli troops … reported', 'according to the Israelis', 'the soldiers reported', 'was said to show'). Smith is careful.

The deck is not. Is any Palestinian quoted: no — no Arab teacher, parent, pupil or official appears, and the only Palestinian voice in the piece is, again, the content of the confiscated books and murals.

VOCABULARY: the headline says 'Occupied Territories' in capitals; the lede says 'her newly occupied territories'; the body says 'the occupied areas' four times, 'the west-bank area', 'Arab schools', 'the Gaza strip' (lower-case s). No hedging, no 'so-called', no scare quotes. The Times in July 1967 simply calls it occupation.

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