By GEES
Everything began when Israel’s embassy in Madrid, Spain started receiving letters written by 9-year old children and filled with anti-Semitic content. In their lines, the minors accused Israelis of military crimes and torture. The children’s letters included phrases such as “Jews kill for money,” “Leave the country to the Palestinians,” or “Go somewhere else where they accept you.” Israel presented a formal complaint to Spain’s ambassador in Tel Aviv since the letters had as senders different schools belonging to the Spanish public education network. Although the letters came from an array of schools throughout Spain, the ones written by elementary school children at El Castell School (in Almoines, Valencia) were the ones distilling a much deeper hatred for Israel. The school’s principal indicated that he knew nothing about this initiative.
Where did it all start? El Castell School belongs to the Amnesty International (AI) school network whose purpose – according to the organization’s webpage – is to carry out “some (or all!) mobilization proposals” organized by AI for its members. AI has created a network of indoctrination and political proselytism in schools and institutes throughout Spain, in which it organizes activities and distributes materials. To join the AI school network, it’s enough that one teacher of that school wants to join. AI offers the possibility of belonging to its network of political activism without regard for the opinions of parents and its adhesion forms don’t need to get the green light from the principal’s office for the children to be indoctrinated.
Through some teachers, Amnesty International organizes school visits and campaigns; its activists arrange lectures and distribute material among schoolchildren. One of their campaigns is to propose children to start a letter-writing campaign denouncing Israeli authorities.
This sort of campaign means to engage 10-year old minors in activism, following the mobilization scheme that Amnesty International uses with its associates. To this end, the organization drafted a two-part document with elementary school children in mind. In the first part, AI accuses Israelis of military crimes, of murdering innocent people, hindering the investigations, and manipulating the facts. In the second part, Amnesty International exhorts children to write a letter to the Israeli ambassador in Spain and even provides the children with the address (Velazquez St.) so that they can denounce Israel.
It all resulted in many letters sent to Israel’s embassy in Madrid conveying in every detail the ideas and arguments that AI expresses about Israelis. The letters include phrases such as: “Mr. Ambassador… You should think twice (or more) before killing women and children.” In some letters, Israel is accused of killing for money while in others children demand that the Jews leave their country behind. These letters are signed by 9-year olds.
This scandal involving Amnesty International has some aspects. The first one has to do with AI’s indoctrination campaign of Spanish children. The organization has created a network of teachers with access to children of all ages: from seniors in high school, to middle school, to even elementary school.
AI recreates the campaigns directed to its members and applies them to children in an exercise of child indoctrination. Besides, it performs this activity using the Spanish public school network, paid for with taxpayers’ money, to impart lessons and distribute printed works and audiovisual materials. This takes place during school hours without parental input or knowledge and oftentimes without the school principal’s knowledge. In the case of El Castell School, the principal declared that he found out about the scandal in the newspapers and that everything started with AI’s campaign in his school. .
The second aspect has to do with the specific case of this anti-Jewish campaign. Amnesty International indoctrinates children in hatred of Jews and Israelis, manipulating them ideologically and feeding 9-year olds with information they cannot discern. Firstly, AI’s campaign in the schools tells the children that Israel shoots against women and children, that it commits war crimes, that it tortures and murders its Palestinian victims. Secondly, the children draw the conclusion that Israelis are murderers without scruples, that they kill children, that they kill for money and that they don’t let the people in Gaza live in peace. In addition, Amnesty International goes a step further and urges schoolchildren to participate in campaigns against Israel by sending their letters to Israel’s embassy. AI manipulates children and turns them into anti-Israel political activists behind their parents’ backs.
©2010 Translated by Miryam Lindberg
GEES is the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group where this article originally appeared and is reprinted here with permission.
Everything began when Israel’s embassy in Madrid, Spain started receiving letters written by 9-year old children and filled with anti-Semitic content. In their lines, the minors accused Israelis of military crimes and torture. The children’s letters included phrases such as “Jews kill for money,” “Leave the country to the Palestinians,” or “Go somewhere else where they accept you.” Israel presented a formal complaint to Spain’s ambassador in Tel Aviv since the letters had as senders different schools belonging to the Spanish public education network. Although the letters came from an array of schools throughout Spain, the ones written by elementary school children at El Castell School (in Almoines, Valencia) were the ones distilling a much deeper hatred for Israel. The school’s principal indicated that he knew nothing about this initiative.
Where did it all start? El Castell School belongs to the Amnesty International (AI) school network whose purpose – according to the organization’s webpage – is to carry out “some (or all!) mobilization proposals” organized by AI for its members. AI has created a network of indoctrination and political proselytism in schools and institutes throughout Spain, in which it organizes activities and distributes materials. To join the AI school network, it’s enough that one teacher of that school wants to join. AI offers the possibility of belonging to its network of political activism without regard for the opinions of parents and its adhesion forms don’t need to get the green light from the principal’s office for the children to be indoctrinated.
Through some teachers, Amnesty International organizes school visits and campaigns; its activists arrange lectures and distribute material among schoolchildren. One of their campaigns is to propose children to start a letter-writing campaign denouncing Israeli authorities.
This sort of campaign means to engage 10-year old minors in activism, following the mobilization scheme that Amnesty International uses with its associates. To this end, the organization drafted a two-part document with elementary school children in mind. In the first part, AI accuses Israelis of military crimes, of murdering innocent people, hindering the investigations, and manipulating the facts. In the second part, Amnesty International exhorts children to write a letter to the Israeli ambassador in Spain and even provides the children with the address (Velazquez St.) so that they can denounce Israel.
It all resulted in many letters sent to Israel’s embassy in Madrid conveying in every detail the ideas and arguments that AI expresses about Israelis. The letters include phrases such as: “Mr. Ambassador… You should think twice (or more) before killing women and children.” In some letters, Israel is accused of killing for money while in others children demand that the Jews leave their country behind. These letters are signed by 9-year olds.
This scandal involving Amnesty International has some aspects. The first one has to do with AI’s indoctrination campaign of Spanish children. The organization has created a network of teachers with access to children of all ages: from seniors in high school, to middle school, to even elementary school.
AI recreates the campaigns directed to its members and applies them to children in an exercise of child indoctrination. Besides, it performs this activity using the Spanish public school network, paid for with taxpayers’ money, to impart lessons and distribute printed works and audiovisual materials. This takes place during school hours without parental input or knowledge and oftentimes without the school principal’s knowledge. In the case of El Castell School, the principal declared that he found out about the scandal in the newspapers and that everything started with AI’s campaign in his school. .
The second aspect has to do with the specific case of this anti-Jewish campaign. Amnesty International indoctrinates children in hatred of Jews and Israelis, manipulating them ideologically and feeding 9-year olds with information they cannot discern. Firstly, AI’s campaign in the schools tells the children that Israel shoots against women and children, that it commits war crimes, that it tortures and murders its Palestinian victims. Secondly, the children draw the conclusion that Israelis are murderers without scruples, that they kill children, that they kill for money and that they don’t let the people in Gaza live in peace. In addition, Amnesty International goes a step further and urges schoolchildren to participate in campaigns against Israel by sending their letters to Israel’s embassy. AI manipulates children and turns them into anti-Israel political activists behind their parents’ backs.
©2010 Translated by Miryam Lindberg
GEES is the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group where this article originally appeared and is reprinted here with permission.
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