Syrian Textbooks Glorify Jihad and Antisemitism: Report

Syria's new school curriculum under President Ahmed al-Sharaa portrays Jews through antisemitic stereotypes and leaves centuries of Syrian Jewish history out of its pages. It calls Israel "the enemy" and the "Zionist entity" and celebrates Dalal al-Mughrabi, the terrorist behind a 1978 massacre in Israel. The findings come from a review of 130 textbooks for grades 1 through 12, released Monday by the London-based watchdog IMPACT-se.

The study covers the 2025–2026 academic year, the first under al-Sharaa. It finds that the Assad-era pan-Arab nationalist framework has given way to an Islamist worldview that glorifies jihad and martyrdom. JNS reported that a Grade 5 Arabic textbook contains a poem holding up al-Mughrabi as a model of heroism, and that her 1978 attack killed 38 civilians, including 13 children. The books also honor Izz ad-din al-Qasam, whose name is carried by Hamas's military wing.

This material appears in lessons for children as young as fourth grade. A Grade 4 Islamic Education lesson teaches that "the believer draws closer to God Almighty through righteous deeds, foremost among them jihad and resistance." A Grade 8 Arabic text praises heroes who "asked Allah for martyrdom" and "watered its soil with pure blood."

The textbooks repeat charges of treachery, deceit and broken covenants against Jews, and they reject Jewish national identity outright. In coverage from i24NEWS, one passage describes Jews as "a hodgepodge of peoples, not a single nation," while Israel is branded "thieving" and "filth." Units on the 1948 war liken the actions of Jewish forces to the Nazis' crimes against Jews, even as Palestinian violence is justified and glorified.

The Jerusalem Post noted that Israel is missing from regional maps and that every past peace agreement involving Israel is condemned. The Golan Heights is still claimed as Syrian, but it is now framed as one of many occupied Muslim lands.

The changes extend well beyond Israel. Science books cut or altered evolution and the Big Bang, and in one text "Nature's gift" became "Allah's gift." Kurds, Turkmen and Druze are almost entirely absent. Christians remain visible but are presented as subordinate to Islamic law. Iran is now cast as an enemy, Hezbollah as Assad's accomplice, and Turkey and the Ottoman Empire in a positive light.

Women are defined mainly as obedient wives and mothers. Hijabs were added to existing illustrations, and one lesson advocates full covering. References to gender equality under civil law were removed.

Researchers Matan Perchikov, Itam Shalev and Yonatan Negev compared the new books with Assad-era editions published between 2011 and 2023. The authors acknowledged that the books include ethical limits on warfare and allow temporary truces, but they judged these elements secondary.

IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff described the curriculum as "a very concerning shift from one damaging ideological framework to another."

"This report should raise serious concerns among international leaders who hope to see Syria emerge as a partner in building a peaceful and prosperous Middle East," Sheff said.

Sheff added that the organization is working with policymakers in Washington and elsewhere to push for reforms while the new Syrian government seeks international assistance.

In September, al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly that the Golan would remain Syrian.