Alwaght- Though the normalization project between the Arab countries and the Israeli regime remained limited to signing the Abraham Accords in September 2020 and no Arab country showed interest to advance it, these days Bahrain is alone making up for Arab world’s underworking concerning this project. After signing security pacts with the Israelis and selling islands to them, as well as implementing projects to Judaize Bahrain, the Al Khalifa regime is now working to revise school textbooks to leave no areas where there is no track of the Israeli influence in the country.
According to reports, under a new educational plan in Bahrain, Al Khalifa rulers’ compromising approaches to the Israeli regime are expected to be introduced to the textbooks. Bahraini political society has, however, warned that the “grave” move is going to harm the national and religious ideals of the people of the country in solidarity with the Palestinian nation. This educational plan is aimed at instilling the normalization with Tel Aviv in the Bahraini society and decreasing the national consciousness of Palestinian cause, especially that education ministry announced that some rules are set to totally change.
Distortion of history for future generation
The government of Bahrain is trying to remove the Palestinian cause from its school textbooks and replace it with Zionist teachings in order to strengthen its relations with Tel Aviv. Bahrain and the UAE, which have facilitated Israeli foothold in the Persian Gulf, are pushing even more than the Israelis themselves for conclusion of the normalization project and full Arab participation in it. The Arab compromisers, who have turned their backs to pursuit of Palestine liberation goal many years ago, seek to bury the Palestine cause as a top Muslim world case and paint the Israelis the rightful side to control Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Before Bahrain, the UAE added Zionist teachings to its textbooks, and according to the Abu Dhabi authorities, the subject of the Holocaust is to be taught in primary and secondary schools. Saudi Arabia, which does not have open diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime, has taken important steps in this regard, and according to reports, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered changes to textbooks to pave the way for normalization. Anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic materials are set to be removed from Saudi textbooks in signal of a will for coexistence with the occupiers and betrayal of the Muslim and Arab ideals.
It seems that along with advancing the normalization, the Israelis have put cultural relations before diplomatic relations as they know well that the more the Arabs are accustomed to the Israelis religiously and culturally, the easier is the penetration of the Arab countries. That the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to get as many Arab countries as possible on board normalization is expressive of the reality that improved relations with Arab states works in best interests of Tel Aviv in the region and can help realize Nile to Euphrates dream with lower costs and without a war.
The Israeli officials are living the illusion that by completion of the thaw process, Palestine will lose its support base in the Arab world, and the Palestinians will be surrounded and secluded by the Israeli-Arab alliance and will eventually be forced to cooperate with the Israelis and in this way the security of the occupied territories will be guaranteed even more. But the Israelis are building castles in the air and actually the Palestinians abandoned their hope in the Arab world years ago and are moving their own path without help from the compromisers and have made huge gains against the Israeli occupation so far.
The Bahraini leaders are trying to show a positive picture of the Israelis in their society with these actions to replace the criminal and victim and to recreate the story in a way as if the Israeli crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are justified and meant to retake Israeli lands seized by Arabs thousands of years ago.
The course of developments over the past years has shown that normalization project is unilaterally beneficial to Tel Aviv and any pact signed post-normalization served the Israeli interests in the region without any fruits for the Arabs. Walking the path of normalization farther than others, the Al Khalifa Bahrain has shown it has high potentials to become the second Palestine. The foundation of the Association of (Persian) Gulf Jewish Communities with the aim of accepting Jews in the Persian Gulf region and then selling islands and lands to them is the start of this project.
Investing on Bahrain’s children
With Arab public opinion supporting the Palestinian nation and opposed to the normalization, Bahrain’s leaders and and other Arab rulers are adopting Zionist teachings in their education system and and eliminating Palestinian cause from it to prepare the new generations for pro-compromise policies and uproot pessimism to the Israeli regime in the Arab societies. Actually, by doing so, AL Khalifa try to alter the culture and prepare the social environment for friendship with Israelis. Having in mind that it is easier to align the children with their plans, Manama rulers start their work fundamentally and from the schools.
Given the policy of boycotting the Palestine cause and countering any voices opposing normalization, the Bahraini families from now on will have to talk to their children about Palestine only at their homes and away from the government spying apparatus to pass it to next generations.
Despite multi-faceted efforts to whitewash Israeli crimes and improve relations with the occupation, the experience of Qatar World Cup 2022 made it crystal clear that just contrary to their leaders, the Arab public are not fans of normalization and remain patrons to their Palestinian brothers until liberation of the occupied territories.
The Arab rulers are preparing themselves for long-term relationship with the Israeli regime while the Israeli officials are not optimistic about future and even in recent weeks voiced concern about collapse in near future. They warn that celebrating 80th anniversary may remain a dream.
