Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman holds a meeting with members of the British government. Image by Dan Kitwood – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Saudi school textbooks for the 2018-19 academic year instigate hatred or violence against Jews, Christians, women and homosexual men, according to an analysis by the Anti-Defamation League.

Newly released textbooks were translated, and several passages were documented in the ADL’s “Teaching Hate and Violence: Problematic Passages from Saudi State Textbooks for the 2018–19 School Year.” Groups that don’t align with Islam were targeted in the books, which are also used in countries in Africa, Europe and other parts of Asia, the ADL found.

The curriculum included hateful sentiments about Jews and Judaism, with some calling for violence.

Antisemitism Notebook

Your weekly guide through the news and the noise of how rising antisemitism and disputes over how to address it are shaping American Jewish life.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Among the most prominent effects of Zionism on the Islamic World are … the spread of drugs and sexual and other diseases in many Islamic countries,” one passage read.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently said in an April interview that he recognizes Israel’s right to exist, BBC reported. Both countries are involved in U.S. relations, in the quest to create a Middle East peace plan. Israel didn’t criticize Saudi Arabia following the Saudi-orchestrated murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the country’s government who was killed in its embassy in Istanbul.

The country had told the U.S. government that it would clear its textbooks of problematic lessons by the 2008 school year, according to the ADL.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount