Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Tuesday 1 January 2013

English-Language Students Taught A Big Lie: No Israel, Only "Occupied Palestine"

British publisher Garnet Education, which publishes books for English-language learners, has issued a textbook, Skills in English Writing Level 1, which omits Israel from the map:



When a similar "error" was discovered in a textbook for Australian schoolchildren during the early 1980s, the head of Australia''s Jewish community immediately telephoned the publisher concerned, and, using no-holds-barred language, told the man to recall all copies of the book and pulp it.

The publisher, cowering before such a verbal onslaught, needed no second urging.

Will Anglo-Jewry's leaders follow where that Australian Jewish leader led, and if so will this British purveyor of the Big Lie comply?

From Israel Today:
 'A popular textbook used by institutions and teachers to teach English as a second language to students in the UK has been found to have a serious anti-Israel bias....
"I teach English as a foreign language in a further education college in Nottingham, England. I came across the attached map and couldn't believe my eyes!" Liz Wiseman told Israel Today.
The textbook in question is Skills in English Writing Level 1, which includes a map of the Middle East on which Israel is nowhere to be found.
While Wiseman acknowledges she was not obligated to use this particular textbook, it is one of the more popular and mainstream English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks published by one of the more popular and mainstream ELT publishers, Garnet Education.
Garnet Education bills itself thus:
"Garnet Education is an independent English Language Teaching (ELT) publisher, specialising in English for Academic Purposes. We produce award-winning ELT books, multimedia resources and tests for students of all ages, from kindergarten to university."
This is far from an isolated incident, which is motivation for drawing attention to this particular case. It is not only in the Middle East where students, both adults and children, are being taught that Israel has no right to exist. The more students around the world are fed this brand of propaganda, the more remote prospects for true peace become.'

20 comments:

  1. They publisher states on their website that the remedial, English proficiencey texts are authored in collaboration with "industry experts": http://www.garneteducation.com/Professional-and-Business-English.html

    Apparently, they are expert in fantasizing eretz Israel out of existence. Or they asked Ratty Green to draw the map.

    Happy 2013.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Their contact details:
      http://www.garneteducation.com/contact-us.html

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    2. I looked this up - http://www.foreignlanguagebookshop.com.au/product-detail-long.php?id=9781859647738&Skills%20in%20English%20-%20Writing%20Level%201%20-%20Student%20Book&ISBN%209781859647738&Author%20Phillips%20,%20Terry&ESL%20Adult%20/%20Tertiary%20English

      the author is one Terry Phillips.

      yes, this is in an Australian bookshop.

      Delete
  2. Been there ... done that. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sent them a few choice words.

      "Contemptible" being one of those words.

      Delete
    2. No doubt it's mere coincidence that Reading, where they are based, has a particularly virulent Palestine Solidarity Campaign branch - so virulent that the branch's website links to an antisemitic online magazine called Redress, which most other PSC branches eschew on account of the kind of contributors it promotes.

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  3. Well who do you think is learning English as a second language in Britain? Pakistanis. So do you want all of London to erupt in flames? Of course not. Face it, Britain is finished. In a generation they will teach English ONLY as second language in secondary schools for the millions of students who've had no exposure to it before, which will be nearly everyone. But to be fair, by then there won't be any UK either and the Scots, Welsh, Cornish and Irish will have split off in to independent nations each one embracing their 'national' traditions and speaking their long dead now resurrected national languages full time.

    Long live the Orkney Frisian Liberation Front!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here's a totally not shocking report
    Extremism unchecked in schools, secret briefing reveals
    More than 100 independent faith schools may be radicalising students, the Department of Education has warned in a secret memo which admits that officials are struggling to tackle extremism in state and private schools.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9750428/Extremism-unchecked-in-schools-secret-briefing-reveals.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ian. I spotted that a little earlier and might blog about it later today.

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  5. Here is Terry Phillips:
    from the Garnet Education website:

    Terry Phillips has worked in ELT for more than 35 years as a teacher, teaching supervisor, manager and language school owner. As a consultant, he has worked in more than 20 countries in all parts of the world, advising state and private language institutions on all aspects of school management.

    For the last ten years, he has been a full time freelance writer with his wife Anna, producing more than 160 published books in ELT. Although he and Anna have worked for all the major publishers, all recent works have been for Garnet Education, including the multi-level EAP course, Skills in English. The course was highly commended in The Duke of Edinburgh’s English Speaking Union Award for 2004. It is taught in a large number of universities in the UK and around the world. Terry and Anna are currently working on New Skills in English, a fully revised and updated version of the course.

    Terry is also the series editor of the new English for Specific Academic Purposes series for Garnet Education, which aims to prepare students to entry into a particular faculty for English-medium tertiary education. The series recently won the ESU award.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, TBS - sorry about the delay in posting your comments - have been away from computer.

      Delete
  6. Follow-up from the Algemeiner: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/01/02/publisher-of-british-textbook-that-erased-israel-from-map-we-are-taking-this-matter-extremely-seriously/

    Response from publisher that does not explicate the "serious editorial error" nor provide assurance it will not happen in the future:

    Map in Skills in English Writing - Level 1
    Thank you for your recent email enquiry about the map that appears in Skills in English Writing - Level 1.

    Unfortunately the map was mislabelled ‘Occupied Palestine’. This was a serious editorial error and was subsequently corrected. The book in question has not been in print for several years.

    Please accept our sincere apologies for any offence caused but rest assured that this was a genuine mistake and in no way reflects any Garnet Education policy.

    Kind regards,

    Garnet Education

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that encouraging news,J. Of course, it might still be in use in many courses.

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  7. The book is still available on Amazon. Also, if you go to the website of Garnet Education and search for the title, you can find the book. It is important to remember to put the colon in the search box "Skills in English: Writing Level 1". I assume this is the same book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Anon. That's useful to know, in case this looks like a beat-up.

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    2. PS On second thoughts, it may be another edition - not sure...

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  8. I think 'Jewess' is being unfair to Garnet Publishing. Their spokesman has isssued an assurance that the error - which is historical and not current - will not reoccur. See here: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23602/Default.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Ian", I cannot imagine how sharing the publisher's response, or providing the link to the Algemeiner article is being "unfair to the publisher"?

      Delete

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