c. 1998 Religion News Service
PRAGUE, Czech Republic _ Most textbooks used in Czech schools give scattered, inadequate and occasionally hostile treatment to Jewish themes, according to a study released here Tuesday, (Oct. 20).
While noting improvements in some recently published books,”most of the materials in use … are inadequate with regard to coverage of the Jewish experience,”said the study’s author, Dr. Leo Pavlat, director of the Jewish Museum in Prague.
Among the findings:
_ Judaism is largely treated as an ancient precursor to Christianity rather than a modern, vibrant religion.
_ Anti-Semitism and issues such as usury and Jewish wealth during the Middle Ages are often discussed haphazardly and without context.
_ The two most widely used secondary-school history textbooks give only a single sentence each to the extermination of the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, which claimed the lives of most Jews living in Czech lands.
_ Curricula on intolerance sometimes omit references to anti-Semitism,”despite its being the most persistent and tragic expression of racism and xenophobia of all time.””The way in which a society treats Jews and the Jewish element … is a barometer of the general levels of tolerance in a society,”said David Singer, director of research for the American Jewish Committee, which commissioned the study.
The study is the second in a series of reports commissioned by the AJC on formerly communist countries in eastern Europe. A study released last May on Poland gave a mixed review to Holocaust materials and criticized instruction about Judaism and the earlier history of Jews in Poland.
Pavlat said the Czech Republic’s educational system needs to tighten its lenient controls over textbooks and to provide more thorough, systematic education about multiculturalism.”This country would like to be a member of the European community,”Pavlat said.”There will be Muslims, black people (moving here). This country is not ready to accept them.” Pavlat based his study on an analysis of dozens of textbooks for elementary and secondary schools as well as published curricula and national educational standards.
He said there were few instances of blatant anti-Semitism in the texts he reviewed but he sensed that”anti-Jewish sentiment”lurked behind one book’s scant mention of the fate of Jews in the Nazi era. Another text, he noted, lavishly details the historically dubious case of Simon Abeles, a Jewish convert to Catholicism whose father was accused of murdering him in 1694.
In general, Pavlat attributed the incomplete depiction of Jewish issues to benign neglect, the legacy of communist-era anti-Zionism, and the limited experiences Czechs have had with Jews, estimated to total only about 6,000 in a population of about 10 million.
Pavlat said that even though Jews”have been an integral part of this society for more than 1,000 years,”textbooks often give only a sketchy description of their status in the Middle Ages.
Texts often mention that Jews practiced usury without explaining that moneylending was one of the few professional options available. Similarly, many texts omit descriptions of the recurrent expulsion of Jews from the Czech lands.
Later in history, texts tend to dwell on the legend surrounding Rabbi Loew _ as creator of the folkloric golem _ rather than his intellectual achievements. They also fail to mention the prominent role of Jews in the industrialization of the Czech lands and the anti-Semitic elements of 19th and 20th century Czech nationalism, Pavlat wrote.
While the most commonly used secondary-school texts scarcely mention Nazi Germany’s mass murder of Jews, Pavlat praised newer texts for devoting extensive text and illustrations to the subject.
Helena Mandelova, chairwoman of the Czech Association of History Teachers, said she agreed that Jewish themes receive too little attention but said history instruction is slighted in general in many Czech schools. In some grades, she said, history classes are given only one or two hours per week.
DEA END SMITH
