Truth in Texas Textbooks ReviewAuthor: Dr. Sandra Alfonsi

Publisher/Publication/Year: McGraw Hill/World Geography/2014

Problem: Bias (B), Omission of Fact (OF), Half-Truth (HT), Factual Error (FE)

The publisher responded to all 13 items in this report and agreed to make 11 changes. Publisher comments on similar excerpts critiqued by the Institute for Curriculum Services have also been included.

Page #/Line # Quote Problem Fact & Source1. Unit 2, Chapter

5: The United States, Lesson 2: Human Geography of the United States, page 2

In the 1760s, the British government angered the colonists by imposing new taxes and limiting their freedoms. The thirteen colonies eventually fought for independence from Britain in the American Revolution (1775–1783). The outcome was an independent federal republic called the United States of America.

FE The United States is a Constitutional Republic

Publisher’s response: The text is not in error. The United States is a federal republic. It is, of course, also a constitutional republic. MHE has no objection to adding an additional adjective. We propose to revise the sentence to read: "The outcome was an independent federal constitutional republic called the United States of America."

2. Unit 2, Chapter 5: The United States, Lesson 2: Human Geography of the United States, page 4

Terrorism became a major concern of many Americans after September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. After such devastation, the United States launched a war on terrorism focused on Afghanistan and Iraq.

OF, B The book fails to identify the type of terrorism and terrorists. Nowhere in this paragraph does the publisher identify the terrorists as Muslims or Islamic Jihadists. In addition there is no explanation for the targeting these 3 specific buildings and the 4th cite was not identified as the White House.

Publisher’s response: This is not a factual error, but a request for additional content. This text is a Grade 9 World Geography text. This lesson provides a necessarily very brief survey of American history. In just 14 paragraphs totaling only 750 words, the text summarizes all of American history, with an emphasis appropriately on geography, from the migration across the land bridge, through the settlement of the continent, the Revolution, the Civil War, industrialism, two world wars,

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immigration, and ends with a brief mention of the war on terrorism. The narrative only devotes 100 words to the Civil War and only 37 words to all of the events from World War I to 1990. From this perspective, the 47 words covering 9/11 and the War on Terrorism may actually be too much, but given its immediate relevance to students lives today, it seemed appropriate to include a bit more detail.

The purpose of the lesson is a broad survey of the human geography of the United States, not a detailed history of the United States. A detailed discussion of 9/11 and the war on terrorism is included in our high school US History program in Chapter 22. Students will study those events from an historical perspective when they study American history. For this reason, MHE does not think any additional content needs to be added and that it would impede student learning of geography to devote so much space to one individual historical event in American history.

MHE does not object however to adding an adjective identifying the terrorists at Islamists as this would help clarify why the US subsequently attacked Iraq and Afghanistan. MHE proposes to revise the sentence to read: "Terrorism became a major concern of many Americans after September 11, 2001, when Islamist terrorists hijacked four passenger planes, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field."

3. Unit 2, Chapter 5: The United States, Lesson 5: Human Geography of Texas, page 3

Cultural and political differences with Mexico sparked unrest among the Americans in Texas. In 1836 a Texas army, led by Sam Houston, defeated the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto, and the independent Republic of Texas was born. Texas joined the Union as the twenty-eighth state in 1845. 

OF Constitutional republic

Publisher’s response: This is not a factual error. The official name was the Republic of Texas, not the Constitutional Republic of Texas. See The Handbook of Texas.

4. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 1: The Physical

The Jordan River, which has a tributary in Syria, flows through all of the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. The river flows along the Syrian-Lebanese border, through the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and

B, FE There the river becomes a natural border between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan before it empties into the Dead Sea.

First: this is a geography textbook and this sentence is part of the description of tributaries which flow through the Eastern

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geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 4

near Mount Hermon. It then flows south into the Sea of Galilee. There the river becomes a natural border between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan before it empties into the Dead Sea. The river is important for irrigation and agriculture. Farmers grow oranges, bananas, beets, and other vegetables on the river’s eastern banks.

Mediterranean. Therefore, the river acts as a natural border between the West bank and Jordan.Second: The designation of “Israeli-occupied” is factually inaccurate. It has never been “occupied” and it is still legally called “disputed territory.” This terminology comes from the fact that no settlement of land for peace was accepted by the Arab nations at the conclusion of the Six Day War in 1967. http://middleeast.about.com/od/arabisraeliconflict/f/khartoum-declaration-faq.html; The publisher’s Bias towards Israel is apparent throughout this Chapter and it is not accidental Bias. It is agenda-based and created by the careful inclusion of egregious Factual Errors.

Publisher’s response: McGraw-Hill disagrees with the statement that the text is biased toward Israel as the reviewer suggests, or that the text is biased against Israel. The only agenda MHE and its authors brought to the development of the text was to teach World Geography in an effective and pedagogically sound manner that is aligned to the Texas curriculum and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. MHE will delete "Israeli-occupied" because it is a confusing reference when describing the river's path. It could be interpreted to mean there are other parts of the West Bank that are not Israeli-occupied.

MHE notes that the reviewer is incorrect to say that the West Bank has never been occupied. The territory was part of Jordan until occupied by Israel following the Six Day War. In the 1994 Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan, Jordan relinquished claims to the West Bank, but the Treaty itself specifically refers to the West Bank as territory that came "under Israeli Military government control in 1967." (See: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/annex1.html). Territory under military government control is by definition "occupied."

5. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: Page 2

By the A.D. 700s, Islam had spread through the subregion and into Europe and the eastern horn of Africa. Islam had profound influences in these areas. One of the new features in the land use of cities

B, OF Nowhere does the publisher provide the information that Islam “spread” through Jihad.

Publisher’s response: This is not a factual error, but a request for additional content. McGraw-Hill does not think a discussion

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and villages was the mosque, or place of worship.

of theological terms such as Jihad are necessary in a Grade 9 Geography text, but acknowledges that the word "spread" is imprecise and will revise the text to note the spread of Islam through conquest. MHE also notices an error in that by the 700s, Islam had not yet spread to the horn of Africa. We will correct the error. MHE therefore proposes the following revisions:

Delete: "By the A.D. 700s, Islam had spread through the subregion and into Europe and the eastern horn of Africa" and replace with "Beginning in the A.D. 630s, Muslim Arab armies moved out of the Arabian Peninsula and attacked neighboring territories. By A.D. 750 nearly all of Southwest Asia, as well as northern Africa and parts of Spain, had been conquered and converted to Islam."

MHE also notes that the text does not reference the spread of Christianity in the region or the presence of Jewish communities in the region. To maintain balance and ensure student understanding of the region's human geography, MHE also proposes the following additions to the content:

After the sentence "The Christian Scriptures included the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament, a collection of works about the life of Jesus and the earliest Christian communities." MHE proposes to insert this sentence: "Christianity spread slowly at first, as Christian apostles and missionaries preached their ideas across the region. By the early A.D. 300s, there were large Christian communities located throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, Asia Minor and Southern Europe."

After the sentence "These laws are described in the Hebrew Bible, which contains the Torah, the books of the prophets, and the sacred writings." MHE proposes to add the sentence: "Although Jews did not actively seek to convert other people, throughout their history they have established communities outside of Israel and today there are Jewish communities throughout the world including the Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia."

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6. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 2

Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, occupation of the Eastern Mediterranean was divided between Britain and France for protection from invasion, as well as for economic development, health and education. Lebanon and Syria gained independence from France in 1943 and 1946, respectively. Jordan gained independence from the British in 1946. The remaining disputed territory was Palestine.

B, OF, HT Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, occupation of the Eastern Mediterranean was divided between Britain and France for protection from invasion, as well as for economic development, health and education.

The League of Nations divided the territories (Eastern Mediterranean) which had been part the Ottoman Empire into two mandates. First: McGraw Hill needs to provide students with the history of the British Mandate for Palestine and the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. The British Mandate for Palestine was a result of the British defeat of the Ottoman Turkish forces during World War I. At that time, the British occupied and established a military administration in Palestine and Syria. In June 1922, the League of Nations approved the British Mandate for Palestine which determined that Britain could divide the Mandate territory into two administrative areas, Palestine under direct British rule, and autonomous Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from Hijaz. The Mandate formalized British rule in Palestine which continued until 1948.Next: McGraw Hill needs to include information on the British Mandate for Palestine. The terminology “remaining disputed territory” used while referring to the British Mandate for Palestine is incorrect and agenda-based. It subliminally prepares the student for considering the state of Israel as “disputed territory.” At bare minimum the following history needs to be included if the publisher decides to use a basic geography textbook as a world history textbook.Britain was never able to resolve the contradictory aspirations of Arabs and Jews in Palestine and following World War II, escalating hostilities between Arabs and Jews and violence against the British in Palestine compelled Britain to relinquish its mandate over Palestine.The British requested that the recently established United Nations determine the future of Palestine. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to terminate the British Mandate for Palestine and to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/transjordan.htm

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Publisher’s response: A Jewish organization, ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) raised similar concerns with this paragraph. McGraw-Hill responded to ICS concerns, and then followed up with a second response after ICS asked for further clarifications. Please see the changes MHE agreed to make in its second response to ICS. The response can be found in the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Second Response to Public Comment HS World Geography."

In response to the ICR critique, MHE proposes to add this new content, but also proposes the following alternative wording that corrects an error in the reviewer's comments and clarifies the chronology: "Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, the administration of the Eastern Mediterranean was divided between Britain and France in 1920 by the League of Nations for protection from invasion, as well as for economic development, health and education. In 1922, Britain created Transjordan from the eastern 80 percent of the Palestine Mandate. The remaining disputed territory was the western portion of the Palestine Mandate. Lebanon and Syria gained independence from France in 1943 and 1946, respectively. Transjordan, renamed Jordan, gained independence from the British in 1946."

ICS Reply to McGraw-Hill's Response: ICS appreciates the new inclusion that in 1922, Britain created Transjordan from the eastern 80 percent of the Palestine Mandate. However, the reason this is significant needs to be added as well, namely that Jews were legally prevented from immigrating to a significant part of the mandate.

The publisher’s response: McGraw-Hill has no objection to this request for this additional content and proposes to implement the additional changes as part of the revision. The revised text including the additional requested ICS revision will read as follows: "Following the defeat of the Ottomans in World War I, the administration of the Eastern Mediterranean was divided between Britain and France in 1920 by the League of Nations for protection from invasion, as well as for economic

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development, health and education. In 1922, Britain created Transjordan from the eastern 80 percent of the Palestine Mandate, and Jews were not permitted to legally immigrate there. The remaining disputed territory was the western portion of the Palestine Mandate. Lebanon and Syria gained independence from France in 1943 and 1946, respectively. Transjordan, renamed Jordan, gained independence from the British in 1946."

7. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 3

Soon after World War II, armed conflicts broke out among Jewish and Arab ethnic groups in Palestine. The Jews wanted an internationally recognized homeland in a part of Palestine. The Palestinians wanted all of Palestine. The Jews accepted a 1947 United Nations (UN) plan to divide Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Arabs rejected it, thus setting up a struggle for control of the land. Both groups had a deep religious and ethnic attachment to the land. The British withdrew from the disputed Palestinian territory, and the Jews proclaimed the independent state of Israel in May 1948.

HT, OF, FE, B Soon after World War II, armed conflicts broke out among Jewish and Arab ethnic groups in Palestine.

Terrorist attacks (“not armed conflicts”) by Arabs against Jews in Palestine existed far before WWII. Arabs have used violence and terrorist tactics against the Jews since the riots of 1920. Radical Arab hatred against the Jews was given a voice when the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in March 1928 by Hassan al-Banna and when Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, recruited Muslims to serve in SS killing units during the years 1937-1945.http://israelipalestinian.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=502http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate_riots_1920-21.php

The British withdrew from the disputed Palestinian territory, and the Jews proclaimed the independent state of Israel in May 1948.

The Mandate formalized British rule in Palestine which continued until 1948. Britain was never able to resolve the contradictory aspirations of Arabs and Jews in Palestine and following World War II, escalating hostilities between Arabs and Jews and violence against the British in Palestine compelled Britain to relinquish its mandate over Palestine.

The British requested that the recently established United Nations determine the future of Palestine. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to terminate the British Mandate for Palestine and to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab.

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#7 Continued

#7 Continued

HT, OF, FE, B

http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/transjordan.htm

The proposed Partition Plan (which gave more land to the Arabs than to the Jews) was accepted by the leaders of the Jewish community in Palestine. The plan was rejected by leaders of the Arab community (the Palestine Arab Higher Committee), who were supported in their rejection by the states of the Arab League community. The armies that invaded Israel on May 15, 1948 were from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Iraq also declared war and Libya and Yemen sent volunteers—eight Arab countries in all fought against Israel.

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_independence_war_start.phphttp://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/History/40s/1948/150506.htm

Publisher’s response: A Jewish organization, ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) asked for similar clarifications in this paragraph. McGraw-Hill responded to ICS concerns and agreed to editorial revisions to the content. Please see the changes MHE agreed to make in its first response to ICS. The response can be found in the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World Geography."

In response to the ICR request for editorial revisions and additional content. MHE proposes to make these revisions, with one alteration. We propose that the new sentence requested: "Neither Egypt nor Jordan granted independence to the Arabs there" not be included to avoid confusion on the part of students. The text does not discuss the issue of whether Jordan and Egypt had promised Palestinians independence in Gaza and the West Bank or whether the Palestinians had asked for it. Without the necessary context, the sentence will confuse students.

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Change: “Soon after World War II, armed conflicts broke out among Jewish and Arab ethnic groups in the British Palestine Mandate. The Jews wanted an internationally recognized homeland in a part of Palestine the Mandate. The Palestinian Arabs wanted all of Palestine. The Jews accepted a In 1947, the United Nations (UN) plan General Assembly voted to divide the Palestine Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state. Jews in the Palestine Mandate accepted the vote and the The Arabs rejected it, thus setting up a struggle for control of the land. Both groups had a deep religious and ethnic attachment to the land. The British withdrew from the disputed Palestinian territory Palestine Mandate, and the Jews proclaimed the independent sState of Israel in May 1948. Five Arab armies invaded: Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. The invasion failed, but Jordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt took over Gaza. Neither Egypt nor Jordan granted independence to the Arabs there.”

8. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 3

Between 1948 and 2013, tensions over Arab opposition to Israel and Israel’s concern for its security led to seven military conflicts. They involved Israel in conflict with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Hezbollah, a paramilitary group dedicated to destroying Israel. In the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel gained control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights.

OF, B In the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel gained control of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights.

The important fact that is omitted here is that Israel offered to negotiate after the Six Day War and that the Arab response at a meeting held in August 1967 in Khartoum was “no recognition, no negotiation, and no peace with Israel.” Furthermore, Israel subsequently returned more than 90 percent of the territories won in the 1967 war after negotiations with its neighbors. As before, its neighbors rejected Israel’s offers to trade land for peace.

http://middleeast.about.com/od/arabisraeliconflict/f/khartoum-declaration-faq.html; http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_khartoum.php; http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/israels_war_of_the_words.html; http://masbirim.gov.il/eng/i_greenline.html

Publisher’s response: This is not a factual error, but a request for additional content. The text states specifically that "Arab opposition to Israel" led to seven military conflicts--the

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Khartoum Resolution referenced by the reviewer is simply one (of many) Arab expressions of that opposition. Because this is a Geography textbook, not a World History textbook, the precise political details of the Khartoum Resolution are not necessary. Describing the details of the resolution requires establishing additional historical context so that the students will understand the events. MHE does not believe this additional content is needed in a world geography textbook. However, based on revisions suggested by ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools), the context and details of the Khartoum Resolution are being added to the World History program. See the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World History."

In response to ICR, the publisher replied: TEKS 13F that the reviewer references when requesting new content is from the World History TEKS. The World History TEKS do not apply to the World Geography program. The program has been found to be in 100% compliance with the World Geography program by the official Texas review panel. The World History TEKS naturally require a greater amount of historical detail and a different emphasis than those for the World Geography program, as the intent of the programs is different. MHE proposes to add the adjective "terrorist" to the description of Hezbollah, but the term paramilitary should be retained. The term "military" is understood to refer to the armed forces of a government composed of trained uniformed soldiers. Hezbollah is not government military force. Paramilitary is a more accurate description. MHE will correct the reference to the 1967 "Israeli-Palestinian" conflict and replace it with a reference to the 1967 "Arab-Israeli" conflict.

9. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean.

The wars following the birth of Israel forced many Arabs living in Palestine and Jews living in various Southwest Asian and North African countries to become refugees. The status of Arab refugees is an ongoing issue in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In addition, the Palestinians want an independent country of their own in

B, FE, OF This is blatant corruption of historical facts. It is agenda-based Islamist revisionism of the history of Israel.

Students are not told that it was Arab leaders who ordered the Palestinians to flee. Palestinians were told to vacate their villages and that they would be allowed to return after the “Zionists” were defeated. “The deliberate depopulation of Arab villages and their transformation into military strongholds

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Page 3 the West Bank. The Palestinian people have become a stateless nation, an ethnic group without a formal country. Although Palestinians are religiously diverse, today most are Muslim with a significant number of Christians living near Jerusalem.

The wars following the birth of Israel forced many Arabs living in Palestine and Jews living in various Southwest Asian and North African countries to become refugees. The status of Arab refugees is an ongoing issue in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In addition, the Palestinians want an independent country of their own in the West Bank. The Palestinian people

B, OF

were marked corollaries of the Arab campaign from the onset of the hostilities. As early as December 1947, an unspecified number of villagers throughout Palestine were ordered out of their homes by the local leaderships (notably in the Tulkarem sub-district), and this phenomenon gained momentum after the ALA’s [Arab Liberation Army] infiltration into the country. Within weeks, rumors were circulating of secret instructions to Arabs in predominantly Jewish areas to vacate their villages so as to allow their use for military purposes…”

Efraim Karsh, Palestine Betrayed, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), p. 182.

In addition students are not told that the Arab nations refused to take in the Palestinians; they chose instead to use them and to exploit their suffering for purposes of discrediting and delegitimizing Israel. Although some camps were set up in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, those countries refused to allow the refugees into their societies.

Jaffa Newspaper, As Sarih, (March 30, 1948). See Bard, Myths and Facts, footnote #4, page189, for English translation.

The wars following the birth of Israel forced many Arabs living in Palestine and Jews living in various Southwest Asian and North African countries to become refugees.

It is incomprehensible that a reputable publishing house should in effect condemn the state of Israel for the refugee problem sustained by the Jews in Arab lands. It is also incomprehensible that it should compare the Arab and Jewish refugees. (See historical information on Arab refugee problem given immediately above). The Jews who were not killed were expelled from Muslim lands. Between 1920 and 1970, 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab and other Muslim countries: from Morocco to Iran, from Turkey to Yemen, including places where they had lived for twenty centuries. The 1940s were a turning point in this tragedy; of those expelled, 600,000 settled in the new state of

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have become a stateless nation, an ethnic group without a formal country. Although Palestinians are religiously diverse, today most are Muslim with a significant number of Christians living near Jerusalem.

Israel, and 300,000 in France and Canada.

http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2010/11/expulsion-of-jews-from-muslim-countries.htm

The Palestinian people have become a stateless nation, an ethnic group without a formal country.

The Palestinians are NOT a nation and therefore they are NOT stateless. The Palestinians are the offspring of those Arabs who lived in the region called Palestine. They are without a state because the Arab nations refused to accept the UN partition Plan which would have divided the Palestine Mandate into two states: one for the Arabs (the larger portion) and one for the Jews who accepted.In response to ICR requests for additional content and editorial revisions, the publisher replied: The use of the name "Palestine," both for the ancient Roman territory and for the British mandate, is commonly used in historical materials and news stories, however, MHE proposes to add the content suggested and use the term "Palestine Mandate" as suggested, for clarity.

Change: “The wars following the birth of Israel forced many Arabs living in the Palestine Mandate and Jews living in various Southwest Asian and North African countries to become refugees. The status of Arab refugees is an ongoing one unresolved issue in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In addition, the some Palestinians want an independent country of their own in the West Bank and Gaza, while others want a state that would eliminate Israel altogether. The Palestinian people have become a stateless nation, an ethnic group without a formal country. Although Palestinians are religiously diverse, today most are Muslim with a significant number of Christians living near Jerusalem.”

Publisher’s response to this review: The text is not in error. McGraw-Hill does not agree that the text corrupts historical facts or presents agenda-based Islamic revisionism of the history of Israel. There is no text in the McGraw-Hill program

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that the reviewer can point to that "condemns the state of Israel for the refugee problem." The text does not make value judgments about events. It simply states that the wars following the birth of Israel led to both Jews and Palestinians becoming refugees. This is factually true.

ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) specifically requested that MHE's World History include a description of the hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees alongside the discussion of Palestinian refugees in that program's lesson on the founding of Israel. (See the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World History"). To take similar content out of the World Geography program would be both inconsistent and inappropriate. A geography program should mention both the Palestinian and Jewish refugees. Both are part of the region's human geography and demographics.

The text's description of the refugees is not in error. The information the reviewer is requesting is additional detailed content describing the nature of the military conflict so as outline how and why the displacement took place. MHE does not think this level of historical and military detail is warrented in a broad survey of contemporary World Geography. MHE also notes that the reviewer is in error when they state that Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon refused to allow the refugees into their society. Jordan granted the Palestinian refugees citizenship. But again, this kind of additional detail and historical information is not necessary when providing a broad outline of the region's people in a World Geography program.

MHE understands the basis for the reviewer's claim that the Palestinians are not a nation but does not believe the text is in error. It is true that the Palestinian people are Arabs, but then again, the majority of Syrians, Iraqis, Kuwaitis, Saudi Arabians, Jordanians are all Arabs too. Yet they each have separate nations and separate national identities and separate national histories. It is possible for a people to come from a shared ethnic heritage and yet have different national identities. People of Hispanic heritage are an example in the

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western hemisphere.

While the Arab people who lived in the Palestine Mandate in 1948 may have had only a sense of Arab identity, it is unquestionably true that a sense of Palestinian nationality has developed over time and that Palestinians now share a distinct identity separate from Iraqis, Jordanians, Syrians and other Arab nations. Undoubtedly, the refusal of many Arab nations to assimilate them helped contribute to this sense of nationhood. But the text is not inaccurate when it describes them as a stateless nation. In 1993, during the negotiations of the Oslo Accords, Israeli Primie Minister Rabin officially recognized the PLO as the representative of the "Palestinian people." (See Letter from Prime Minister Rabin to Yassir Arafat, September 9, 1993, available at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/MFADocuments/Yearbook9/Pages/TABLE%20OF%20CONTENTS.aspx). Since then, the Israeli government has continued to recognize that the Palestinians are a distinct people. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated in 2001 that an eventual Palestinian state was necessary for any final peace settlement, a position endorsed by Israel's prime ministers since then.

It is precisely because Israel has recognized that the Palestinians are a people with their own claim to national self-determination that Israel has continued to insist that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state as part of any final settlement. The issues are clearly complicated, but the text is correct when describing the geography of the eastern Mediterranean to identify the Palestinians as a stateless nation.Page 5

10. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean.

In 2006 Hamas, an Islamic political party, won elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas supported terrorist attacks on Israel. In 2012, in response to rocket attacks from Hamas-governed Gaza, the Israeli military launched air strikes followed by ground forces. Many targeted areas suffered extensive damage.

HT, B

B

In 2012, in response to rocket attacks from Hamas-governed Gaza, the Israeli military launched air strikes followed by ground forces. Many targeted areas suffered extensive damage.

The problem was created by Hamas. Israel has the right to

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Page 3 defend her people against all terrorist attacks and targeted areas will necessarily suffer extensive damage. The same must be said about damage to Israel’s’ infrastructure. This damage like that in Gaza was caused by Hamas.

Publisher’s response: A Jewish organization, ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) asked for similar clarifications in this paragraph. McGraw-Hill responded to ICS concerns and agreed to identify Hamas as a terrorist organization and to state that it conducts terrorist attacks on Israel. Please see the changes MHE agreed to make in its first response to ICS. The response can be found in the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World Geography."

The text does not in any way state that Israel does not have a right to defend itself. Indeed, the text clearly describes the fact that Hamas initiated the conflict by launching rocket attacks against Israel prompting the Israeli response. The Israeli counter attack inflicted extensive damage but it would be inaccurate to make the parallel statement that Hamas inflicted extensive damage on Israel's infrastructure. MHE agrees, however, that the rocket attacks have an impact on Israel's human geography and proposes to add the following sentence: "Ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza have caused little physical damage, but they have affected life in Israel. Israelis have had to create an alarm system and build fortifications inside schools and at bus stops. They have also developed a missile defense system to shoot down the rockets."

In response to the ICR requests for additional content, MHE proposes to add this content to the paragraph as suggested by the reviewer.

Change: “In 2006 Hamas, an Islamic political party and terrorist organization, won elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas supported conducted terrorist attacks on Israel. In 2012, in response to rocket attacks from Hamas-governed Gaza, the Israeli military launched air strikes

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followed by ground forces. Many targeted areas suffered extensive damage.”

11. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 4

Independence in the 1940s was not smooth for Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan. By 1970 Lebanon had descended into a civil war based on religious politics between Christians and Muslims. Following the 1983 Israeli invasion, a group of Lebanese Shia clerics formed Hezbollah. Their goal was to drive Israel from Lebanon. The Syrian government intervened in the conflict, although Lebanese of all religions were opposed to Syrian interference. The civil war ended in 1989 with a new government that divided all administrative positions based on equal ratios of Christians and Muslims.

OF, B Following the 1983 Israeli invasion, a group of Lebanese Shia clerics formed Hezbollah. Their goal was to drive Israel from Lebanon.

Not all information on the goals of Hezbollah is contained here. Following the Islamic revolution in Shīʿite Iran in 1979 and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, a group of Lebanese Shīʿite clerics formed Hezbollah with the goal of driving Israel from Lebanon and establishing an Islamic state in Lebanon.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/264741/Hezbollah

As for the civil war in Lebanon, it lasted from 1975 until 1989, when it ended with the signing of the Taif Accord. Israel went into Lebanon on June 6, 1982 in response to PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israeli territory; they remained there only to prevent further attacks on Israel, until their unilateral withdrawal in 2000.

Publisher’s response: A Jewish organization, ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) asked for similar clarifications in this paragraph. McGraw-Hill responded to ICS concerns and agreed to editorial revisions to the content. Please see the changes MHE agreed to make in its first response to ICS. The response can be found in the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World Geography."

In response to the ICR request for additional content, the publisher replied: MHE is concerned that this level of historical detail is unnecessary in a Grade 9 Geography program. In addition, the proposed paragraph contains some errors. Although the PLO organization was forced to move to Lebanon in 1970, there had long been hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon and the PLO had been both launching attacks on Israel, and intervening in internal Lebanese politics since the 1960s. MHE proposes the following revision to ensure historical and chronological

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accuracy:

“Independence in the 1940s was not smooth for Lebanon, Syria, or Jordan. In Lebanon, the situation was complex because there were large Christian and Muslim communities vying for power, and a large Palestinian population and PLO presence in the south near Israel's border. An arms race erupted among the different Lebanese factions and by 1975 Lebanon had descended into a civil war between Christians and Muslims. Syrian forces intervened and occupied parts of Lebanon from 1976 to 2005. PLO forces staged cross border attacks on Israel prompting several Israeli interventions into Lebanon. In the 1980s, a group of Lebanese Shia clerics formed Hezbollah, an Islamist terrorist organization, with the financial and military support of Iran. This led to increased violence in southern Lebanon as Hezbollah fought with other factions for power, and launched missiles into Israel. The civil war did not end until 1989 when a new government that divided all administrative positions based on equal ratios of Christians and Muslims was formed. By 2005, Syrian forces had left Lebanon.”

12. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2:. Page 5

The population of the subregion includes many different ethnicities and religious sects. In Lebanon, Christians of various sects make up about 40 percent of the total population. Christians make up smaller percentages in Jordan and Syria.

OF, B Christians make up smaller percentages in Jordan and Syria.

Israel is not included. 2% of the population in Israel is Christian. 160,000 Christians who live in Israel with another 50,000-60,000 who live in the West Bank and Gaza. http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/313585445/unity-is-a-difficult-mission-for-christians-in-israel

Publisher’s response: This is a request for additional content, not a factual error. MHE has no objection to adding this content and proposes to revise the sentence to read: Christians make up smaller percentages in Jordan and Syria, and are approximately 2% of Israel's population."

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13. Chapter 16: The Eastern Mediterranean, Lesson 2: The Physical geography of the eastern Mediterranean. Page 5

The demographics of the Eastern Mediterranean have changed drastically in the past century. After 1990 nearly 900,000 immigrants moved to Israel from Russia. It was the largest immigration to Israel since independence in 1948. Today over 67 percent of Israel’s Jews are native born. Due to military conflicts and resettlement programs, many Palestinians were displaced beginning with the war following Israel’s declaration of independence. They relocated to refugee settlements in neighboring Arab countries. In 2012 the UN reported that there were 4,797,723 registered Palestinian refugees living in 58 camps in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. These include several generations of descendants of the original refugees. This has been a serious humanitarian issue that hampers peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

FE, HT, OF, B Due to military conflicts and resettlement programs, many Palestinians were displaced beginning with the war following Israel’s declaration of independence. They relocated to refugee settlements in neighboring Arab countries. In 2012 the UN reported that there were 4,797,723 registered Palestinian refugees living in 58 camps in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. These include several generations of descendants of the original refugees. This has been a serious humanitarian issue that hampers peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

This statement is propaganda with very little truth and few historical facts. Arab leaders ordered the Palestinians to flee. Palestinians were told to vacate their villages and that they would be allowed to return after the “Zionists” were defeated. “The deliberate depopulation of Arab villages and their transformation into military strongholds were marked corollaries of the Arab campaign from the onset of the hostilities. As early as December 1947, an unspecified number of villagers throughout Palestine were ordered out of their homes by the local leaderships (notably in the Tulkarem sub-district), and this phenomenon gained momentum after the ALA’s [Arab Liberation Army] infiltration into the country. Within weeks, rumors were circulating of secret instructions to Arabs in predominantly Jewish areas to vacate their villages so as to allow their use for military purposes…”Efraim Karsh, Palestine Betrayed, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), p. 182.

In addition students are not told that the Arab nations refused to take in the Palestinians; that they chose instead to use them and to exploit their suffering for purposes of discrediting and delegitimizing Israel. Although some camps were set up in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, those countries refused to allow the refugees into their societies.

Jaffa Newspaper, As Sarih, (March 30, 1948). See Bard, Myths and Facts, footnote #4, page189, for English translation.

Students are never told that generations of Palestinian refugees

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have remained in the camps because of the PLO and also UNWRA. The 600,000 Arabs who fled their homes in mandatory Palestine and the nascent state of Israel during the 1947-48 war have been kept in squalid camps for decades by their Arab hosts as a means of derogating Israel in the eyes of the West and arousing pan-Arab sentiments. And as if to add insult to injury, the U.N. Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), established in December 1949 as a temporary means for relieving the plight of the newly-displaced refugees, has transformed into a permanent organization that has substantially exacerbated the problem whose resolution it was supposed to facilitate.

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=18&x_article=960http://www.meforum.org/3354/unrwa-mission

Publisher’s response: The text is not in error. McGraw-Hill does not agree that the paragraph propaganda with very little truth. The reviewer does not actually identify any factual error, but is instead requesting additonal [sic] content. The text simply states that military conflicts led to Palestinians being displaced and provides statistical data. This is not controversial. As noted in a previous response above, the information the reviewer is requesting is an additional detailed discussion of the nature of the military conflict so as outline how and why the displacement took place. MHE does not think this level of historical and military detail is warrented [sic] in a broad survey of World Geography. ICS (The Institute for Curriculum Services National Resource Center for Accurate Jewish Content in Schools) also requested clarifications to this paragraph. McGraw-Hill responded to those concerns and agreed to editorial revisions to the content. Some of those editorial revisions may address the reviewer's concerns. Please see the changes MHE agreed to make in its first response to ICS. The response can be found in the document entitled: "McGraw-Hill Response to Public Comment HS World Geography."

In response to the ICR requests for editorial revisions and

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additional content, the publisher proposes to add the new content and to make these revisions.

Change: “The demographics of the Eastern Mediterranean have changed drastically in the past century. High birth rates, conflicts, and immigration to the region and around the region have changed the population mixes in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. An outcome of the Arab-Israeli conflict has been the creation of comparable numbers of Arab refugees and Jewish refugees in the region. After 1990 nearly 900,000 immigrants moved to Israel from Russia. It was the largest immigration to Israel since independence in 1948. Today over 67 percent of Israel’s Jews are native born. Due to military conflicts and resettlement programs, mMany Palestinians were displaced beginning with the war following Israel’s declaration of independence. They relocated to refugee settlements in Gaza, the West Bank, and neighboring Arab countries. In 2012 the UN reported that there were 4,797,723 registered Palestinian refugees living in 58 camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. These include several generations of descendants of the original refugees that numbered around 700,000. This has been a serious humanitarian is still an issue that hampers in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.”

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Evaluation of Social Studies Skills and other important issuesNumber Questions Yes No

1. Is the appropriate vocabulary relevant to the subject matter presented to students?For example, on comparative government are terms such as monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, socialism, fascism, and communism presented?

X

2. Are the captions under pictures factual? X

3. Are the charts and graphs relevant to the topic being presented? N/A

4. Are the maps accurate and relevant to the topic?

5. Are questions thought provoking? Is adequate and accurate material provided so that the students can formulate appropriate answers?

X Thought-provoking X not accurate

6. Are primary and secondary sources presented for students to examine (for bias, propaganda, point of view, and frame of reference)?*

X

7. Does the text present a lesson on how to evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author? *

X

8. Does the textbook have a Glossary? Are key terms included and defined?

9. Does the textbook have accurate timelines to help the student understand chronological historical developments?

X

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Commendations:

Concerns:

Evaluations based on templateChoices Explanations Yes No

1. This text has minor changes that need to be made

2. This text has a moderate number of changes

3. This text has substantial changes that need to be made

4. This book is so flawed that it is not recommended for adoption. X

This textbook is flawed, inaccurate and biased. I do not recommend it for use and I would like the publishers to account for the horrific lack of historical accuracy and blatant agenda-based bias.

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