A New York City public elementary school has been accused of “Jewish erasure” because a map in one of its classrooms showed all the countries in the Middle East except Israel — which it labeled Palestine.
The map, labeled “Arab World,” appeared in a classroom at PS 261 in Brooklyn, where Rita Lahoud teaches students in the Arab Cultural Arts program — funded by the Qatar Foundation International, the American wing of the Qatar Foundation, a nonprofit owned by a wealthy ruling family.
It is produced by an Arab Ruman education company and features Islamic landmarks in every country in northern Africa and the Middle East.
At the school, the map was posted under the heading “Arab World” with hand-drawn labels marking each country, except for Israel which Lahoud labeled “Palestine.”
“Not only are we experiencing antisemitism in NYC public schools, we are actually experiencing antisemitism,” Tova Plaut, New York City public school instructional coordinator for preschool through fifth grade, told the Free Press.
“And here’s the proof.”
A map of the “Arab World” in a classroom at PS 261 labels Israel as “Palestine.” @Spokoiny / X
QFI shared a photo of the map in a since-deleted post on X, writing: “We love seeing #Arab classroom decorations!” according to the Free Press.
But Plaut said the map was “difficult.”
“The fact that there are maps out there that don’t represent what the world actually looks like is troubling,” he said.
“We’re giving kids the wrong information,” he continued, calling the map an “example of how you instill implicit bias in kids.
“What it does is it creates an inner instinctive knowledge that they understand that this land belongs to the Arab world; that it doesn’t belong to anyone else,” added Plaut, who is also the founder of the New York City Public Schools Alliance, a group of educators and parents fighting antisemitism and other forms of hatred in city schools in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
“When you instill something when a child is young, it becomes a belief. And belief is more difficult to change than knowledge,” he said.
The school has an Arab Cultural Arts program, which is funded by the Qatar Foundation International — the American wing of the Qatar Foundation, a non-profit organization owned by the country’s wealthy ruling family. Google Street View
In the classroom where the map is displayed, Lahoud, a Palestinian-American who was born in the US but moved to the Middle East at age 7 and has lived in Palestine and Saudi Arabia, teaches a lesson “about the art and culture of the Arab world” in Arabic, according to the QFI blog.
He said in November he had a passion for teaching students about Arab culture, telling the blog: “Diversity in education and every area of life is now valued more than ever.
“Even if my students do not grow up as Arabic experts or even fluent in Arabic, they will have deep knowledge and respect for Arab culture and art,” said Lahoud.
“This is very important in today’s political and social climate,” he continued.
“Educational programs like ours can help change perceptions, and give kids the tools they need to challenge stereotypes.”
The Post has reached out to the New York City Department of Education and QFI for comment.
Rita Lahoud teaches students at the school “about the art and culture of the Arab world” in Arabic. Google Street View
When contacted for comment, the principal of PS 261 directed the Post to the Department of Education.
But when the Free Press asked the department if the map was still available following the October 7 Hamas attack, a spokesman responded, “Why not?” outlet reported.
Spokesman Nathaniel Styer also reportedly added that “this is a map of Arabic-speaking countries.”
Meanwhile, it was revealed that QFI has donated over $1 million to the Department of Education between 2019 and 2022.
In 2019 and 2020, the organization gave more than $241,000 to fund bilingual Arabic programs at PS 261 and PS 30 in Brooklyn, according to public disclosure forms.
In 2021, the organization also gave more than $275,000 to the Department of Education, and in 2022, that number increased to more than $513,000, although it was unclear how the funds were distributed.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
