• Part 1: Caesarea, the Negev, the Kinneret [Sea of Galilee] - are all Occupied Palestine
• Part 2: Glorification of Terrorists and Praise of Violence
• Part 3: Nationalistic Definitions and Educating for Hatred
• Part 4: Jerusalem, the Capital of Palestine

Introduction

The Palestinian media serves as a window into the internal Palestinian world. Through this window it is possible to view Palestinian society and ideology, and to observe their fundamental values and culture, giving us a deeper understanding of their beliefs, heroes, and expectations.

The goal of this series of studies on Palestinian society and culture is to examine the Palestinian use of cultural mechanisms, such as games, riddles, song, and theatre as means to inculcate political and social values into the public consciousness. This series of studies will examine the political messages; are they messages of acceptance of Israel and its right to exist, messages of peace and co-existence, or perhaps the opposite.

This first report examines crossword puzzles that are published in the Palestinian Authority [PA] newspapers, word games that are not intended as propaganda or “incitement”. The report reviewed the clues and solutions in randomly selected crossword puzzles that were published in the P.A.’s newspapers in recent years.

Findings

An examination of crossword puzzles reveals repeated use of problematic nationalistic motifs that openly express non-acceptance of Israel’s existence and glorification of terrorist–murderers like Yihyeh Ayyash. Every meter of the State of Israel from Metula to Eilat is defined as “Palestine” or “occupied Palestine”. A frequently repeated theme is the depiction of Jerusalem as the “Eternal Capital of Palestine”. The review of the crossword puzzles also revealed examples of vulgar historical revision, such as clue defining Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, a “center for eternalizing the lies” and calling the Australian Christian who set a fire in the Al Aksa Mosque in 1969 a “settler”. Anti-Semitism, such as defining the Jewish character trait as “treachery”.

It is important to note that these clues and solutions were not published in the P.A. newspapers in the aftermath of particular tension or conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Rather, these have appeared over the past number of years as a routine part of Palestinian culture and amusement reflecting normative Palestinian thinking and expectations.

Clue: "Palestinian Desert (spelled backwards)" Solution: The Negev [Israel's Southern Desert] [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 26, 2000]	Clue: "Jewish Center for eternalizing the Holocaust and the lies" Solution: Yad Vashem [Israel's Holocaust Memorial] [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 18, 1999]
Clue: "Capital of Palestine, from the dawn of history to eternity " Solution: Jerusalem [Al-Quds, Sept. 8, 2000]	Clue: "The Jewish trait (spelled backwards)" Solution: treachery [Al-Quds, Dec. 20, 2000]

Part 1:Caesarea, the Negev, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) –
are all Occupied Palestine

The most important principle in the Palestinian identity is that every meter of the State of Israel is occupied Palestine. This ideology is expressed directly in the P.A. newspaper crossword puzzles in which all parts of Israel, from the Negev in the South, to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and Israel’s Northern border, are all defined as “Palestine”. In one crossword puzzle, the clue “A Palestinian city” repeated three times with the following answers: Haifa, Lod, and Ashqelon [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, November 4, 1999]. Three clues in another crossword puzzle were “A city on Palestinian land that was occupied in 1948” with answers being Jaffa, Lod, and Haifa [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, September 26, 2000]. All the above are Israeli cities.

[It is interesting to note that the present findings corroborate the findings of the study examining new schoolbooks published by the Palestinian Authority which found that all the pictures of locations in Israel proper, such as Jaffa, Beit Shan Valley and Acre, are listed in the textbooks as being part of Palestine.[Study of - Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace - Dec. 2000]

The following is a selection of some of the clues from daily crossword puzzles in which Israeli cites and regions are defined as being part of occupied and stolen “Palestine”.

Part 2: Glorification of Terrorists and In Praise of Violence

Terrorists who killed the largerst number of Israelis are the greatest Palestinian national heroes, an attitude that is widely expressed in that the names which appear frequently as the answers to clues in Palestinian crossword puzzles. For example, the name of the terrorist Yihyeh Ayaash, who prepared the bombs for the Hamas suicide bombers, appears frequently in crossword puzzles, as many as three times in a month. Similarly the names of terrorists from the past appear as clues, such as that of Dala’al Magra’abi who participated in the Coastal Road Bus Massacre in which 36 Israelis were killed. Woven into the crossword puzzle clues is an underlying theme that glorifies violence against Israel and Israelis. What follows are a few examples:

Part 3: Nationalistic Clues and Educating for Hatred

Many crossword puzzle clues refer to historic events possessing nationalistic significance. These clues focus on events that arouse hatred of Israel such as Land Day, “the accursed English declaration – the Balfour declaration” Historical distortion is also common including, calling the Holocaust a “lie”, and defining the non Jewish Austrailian who set the Al Aksa mosque on fire in 1969 a “settler.” Another historic motif that stands out in the crossword puzzles is the commemoration of Islamic military leaders, such as Saladin who captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders. He is quoted in the clue as saying: Asked “How can I smile while Jerusalem is captive?” and the message to the Palestinian reader is obvious.

Part 4: Jerusalem, the Capital of Palestine

Depicting Jerusalem as the capital of “Palestine” is a fundamental principle in the Palestinian view of the world, and appears frequently as a theme in the print media, television, Palestinian education, and it is stressed in the crossword puzzles as well. The crosswords promote the historical revision that Jerusalem was in the past the capital of a Palestinian Arab entity and will is eternal capital of Palestine. These clues emphasize the Islamic and Christian affinity for the city, while totally ignoring the historical and religious connection that Jews have to Jerusalem.