I was disgusted and appalled when I read "Palestinian Education in Disarray" (Commentary, Bulletin, May 2002). First, I do not believe the Bulletin is an appropriate forum for discussing one side of the controversial topic of Middle East politics. Second, this article is completely one-sided, biased and full of misinformation and half-truths pertaining to the education system in Israel.

Specifically, the article is plagued by omissions of important information. First, the author fails to mention that Israeli Arabs are by far the best educated in the Middle East. How can there be no discussion comparing their situation to those in arab countries?

Second, although the author mentions the universities in the West Bank, he fails to mention that Israel built the universities there in the first place, specifically in order to increase the education level of the Palestinians living there. No arab countries contributed to the cost.

Furthermore, European countries might have made contributions to the Palestinian Authority for education, but most of the money did not make it to the education system. It went to the personal funds of the members of the corrupt PA. Although the news media has clearly shown this to be true, the author overlooks this. He states, "The Palestinians have been painstakingly pursuing the project of nation building, with education at its core." What is this information based on?

The PA did manage to continue its campaign of teaching from anti-Semitic textbooks - the likes of which have not been seen since Nazi Germany - a fact the author has completely and dangerously denied based on misinformation. He also says Israel murdered and displaced 18,000 Lebanese in the 1982 invasion. This is total fiction.

In summary, this article is not only offensive but dangerous as it can lead to both anti-Israel feelings and anti-Semitism. It is the responsibility of the editors to bring forward a counter article with true facts about the situation in Israel. Otherwise, CAUT will be known as a forum for the dissemination of Palestinian propaganda.

Tal Arbel
Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University