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Schools in United Arab Emirates to teach Holocaust in national curriculum

Dubai Daily Life
Posted at 7:08 PM, Jan 13, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-13 21:08:16-05

Just two years after the signing of the Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it will begin including lessons on the Holocaust in primary and secondary classrooms among the country's national curriculum.

The Abraham Accords were created and signed to improve peace in the Middle East "based on mutual understanding and coexistence" and were meant to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel.

U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt said, “Holocaust education is an imperative for humanity and too many countries, for too long, continue to downplay the Shoah for political reasons..I commend the UAE for this step and expect others to follow suit soon."

Lipstadt used the word "Shoah," which means Holocaust in Hebrew.

The UAE's education ministry is working with the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education to create the lessons, al-Monitor reported.

The UAE has been seen as strengthening its role as peacemaker in the region and has taken multiple steps to fulfill promises made in the accords.