There is a certain ache that comes with watching denial unfold. When large segments of the Arab public still reject the horrific images of the October 7 victims – insisting that verified footage is nothing more than staged propaganda – it becomes painfully difficult to imagine these same audiences accepting evidence of atrocities that took place 80 years ago in Europe.
In the days and weeks after Hamas’s brutal attack, social media across the region pulsed with posts insisting that the murdered Israeli civilians were merely “actors,” that the scenes were “fabricated,” or that the entire massacre was “a Zionist production.”
At the same time, much of Arab media either downplayed or entirely ignored the barbarity of October 7, even as those same channels replayed around the clock images of Palestinians suffering.
If people refuse to believe an act of cruelty recorded in high definition, happening in broad daylight before the world’s eyes, how can we expect them to accept the historical record of the Holocaust or trust any curriculum that attempts to teach it?
Decades of miseducation
This selective empathy did not appear overnight. It is the result of decades of choices – educational, ideological, and political – that have shaped how Arab societies imagine Jews, Israel, and the concept of mass atrocity itself.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, observed every year on January 27, is meant to be a universal moment of reflection: a reminder of the catastrophic consequences of hatred when left unchallenged.
Yet in much of the Arab world, the day passes quietly, acknowledged mostly by diplomats. In public discourse, the Holocaust rarely appears as a human tragedy; when it does surface, it is almost always filtered through political grievance or skepticism.
Part of the reason is simple but often overlooked: Education cannot be reformed while the media continues to spread hostility. These two ecosystems are inseparable.
Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel has, for years, shaped an emotional climate of resentment across the region. Egyptian cinema and drama – arguably the most influential cultural force in the Arab world – have normalized anti-Jewish tropes for generations, embedding them in the collective imagination. Hostile television channels and even children’s cartoons reinforce these narratives from the earliest age.
Two models
This contrast becomes especially vivid when examining the diverging paths across the region. In recent years, a new group of states – the so-called “countries of moderation,” led by the UAE, Morocco and, in its deliberate and carefully measured way, Saudi Arabia – have begun pushing for gradual deradicalization through curriculum reform, interfaith engagement, and an attempt to soften public attitudes toward Jews and Israel.
Opposing them stand the “countries of resistance.” They are led by Iran and supported by Qatar, whose education systems fuse nationalism, religion, and a narrative of permanent struggle against Israel and the West.
Somewhere in between sit the older “cold peace” states – Egypt and Jordan – which signed peace treaties with the Jewish state decades ago but still educate their youth in a narrative that marginalizes or erases Jewish experience, including the Holocaust.
Egypt, for example, has taken some steps toward reform. Early-grade textbooks have removed certain antisemitic passages and occasionally highlight common ground between Judaism and Islam.
Students may learn scriptural commonalities with Judaism, but they do not learn why millions of Jews were murdered in Europe, nor how that trauma continues to shape modern Israeli fears and political behavior.
Jordan’s curriculum goes further. It reinforces a narrative centered on Israeli enmity and Palestinian victimhood, offering no attempt to humanize Israelis or acknowledge the historical vulnerability of Jews.
Even after October 7, some material briefly framed the massacre as legitimate resistance before being quietly revised. The peace treaty between Jordan and Israel is a piece of paper; it has never been allowed to enter the classroom.
Interfaith harmony
The Abraham Accords presented a different model. In the UAE, curricula now promote interfaith harmony and recognize Judaism as part of the region’s historical and cultural fabric. The Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi – a mosque, church, and synagogue standing side by side – has become a living classroom for coexistence.
Emirati textbooks explicitly praise peace with Israel as consistent with national identity and Islamic values. The UAE even announced plans to teach the Holocaust – a courageous step in the Arab world – though implementation remains slow.
Morocco, anchored by its centuries-old Jewish community, has taken meaningful steps toward integrating Jewish history openly into its curriculum. While Holocaust education remains limited, the foundational premise is understood: Jewish suffering is real, and Jewish history is indigenous to the region. These steps may be modest, but they are transformative.
Bahrain, however, shows the fragile nature of reform. After initially introducing Holocaust-related content following its normalization with Israel, public pressure forced the government to reverse course. As always, the curriculum became a mirror of political anxiety.
In the countries of resistance, however, the story is reversed. In Iran, textbooks deny Jewish historical presence in Israel and portray hostility toward the “Zionist entity” as a religious and moral duty. When the Holocaust appears, it is framed as political manipulation rather than genocide. Qatar, meanwhile, has removed some explicit antisemitism but erased the Holocaust entirely. In this version of history, Jews have no suffering to speak of and no legitimate historical connection to the land.
These dynamics are most extreme in the Palestinian territories, especially Gaza. There, education is intertwined with the logic of armed struggle. Textbooks erase Jewish history, deny Jewish holy sites, and glorify violent “liberation.”
Children are asked to solve math problems using the number of Palestinian “martyrs.” Summer camps train them to simulate attacks against Israelis. In such an environment, the Holocaust is not only absent; it is inconceivable.
Essential education
This is why International Holocaust Remembrance Day cannot be dismissed as a Western ritual with no relevance to the region. It is directly tied to decisions Arab societies make about their own education and media systems.
Teaching the Holocaust in Arab schools is not about absolving Israel of its policies, nor does it erase Palestinian suffering. It is about acknowledging that Jews, too, have been targets of annihilating hatred, and that this history continues to shape Israeli fears and decisions. Without this recognition, “mutual understanding” remains nothing more than a slogan.
The countries of moderation show that change is possible, even if slowly. Saudi Arabia’s textbooks still contain troubling omissions – Israel is absent from maps, and the Holocaust is not taught – but overt demonization of Zionism has been significantly reduced. If normalization moves forward, Holocaust education will become one of the clearest markers of the kingdom’s commitment to deradicalization.
The deeper truth is clear: Education follows politics. When leadership embraces confrontation, curricula erase the Holocaust and portray Jews exclusively as enemies. When leadership chooses coexistence, space opens – gradually, cautiously – for Jewish history, Jewish suffering, and Jewish humanity.
In Gaza, rebuilding schools after the war will mean little if textbooks, teachers, media, and digital platforms continue to uphold a worldview that denies Jewish pain and glorifies violence. Reform must reach beyond classrooms into the media sphere, homes, popular culture, and religious discourse. Teaching the Holocaust to children whose environment remains hostile is like planting seeds in soil poisoned by hatred.
On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Arab world stands before a moral and generational choice. It can continue allowing denial and hostility to shape future generations, or it can begin creating even the smallest space for historical truth, empathy, and coexistence.
Remembering the Holocaust is not only a Jewish responsibility; it is a human obligation. In the Middle East today, taking that obligation seriously may be one of the most essential steps toward a future defined not by martyrdom and hatred but by understanding – and, perhaps, one day, peace.■
Dr. Najwa AlSaeed is a member of MENA 2050 and serves as a writer and researcher for several leading publications. She has also lectured at multiple universities across the MENA region. She can be reached at: najwasaied@hotmail.com