Row Over Holocaust Education in Gaza

Should the Holocaust be included in human rights curriculum for children in Gaza?

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) caught crossfire this week from Hamas, on one side, accusing the agency of violating its "sovereignty" and perpetuating historical lies by planning to teach the Holocaust to Palestinian children, and from Jewish groups, on the other, who support the idea and reject the statements from Hamas's ever-vigilant Holocaust deniers.

UNRWA shot back against the most vociferous of its critics, accusing the Simon Wiesenthal of falsely attributing inflammatory statements to the agency's head.

It's a public relations nightmare in an already difficult context, to say the least. Regardless of whether or not such a proposal was even being considered -- which remains unclear, as UNRWA has not made public comments on the matter -- the agency will now be forced to make a decision that will seriously displease one side or the other:

To add the Holocaust as a matter of principle, and subject itself to huge dissent, possible reprisals, and a likely boycott of its programs by supporters of Hamas.

To leave the Holocaust out in order to avoid such backlash, but instead take heat from groups that will accuse the agency of kowtowing to ideologies of hate.

In this incredibly charged environment, is it possible to make a de-politicized decision about children's education? (Whether or not that is possible in any context is the subject of another discussion.)  Where does the UN's obligation lie: With the population it is serving, or with historical and moral accuracy?

The question really comes down to, then: Whose heat is the UN better placed to withstand?

[Photo: Creative Commons - Palestinian Children in Jenin.]