In an official politics exam in Ireland, students aged 17 and 18 were required to answer a question on children's rights around the world. Alongside the question, they were shown a text from Al Jazeera claiming that Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza.
According to the text presented in the exam, "at least 20,000 children" were killed out of some 67,000 Palestinians killed, and "one child was killed every hour." It also stated that almost one in four children suffers from "severe acute malnutrition," that "more than 2,300 educational facilities were destroyed" and that "450 Palestinian children are being held in Israeli prisons." The link to the material was titled "Two years of Israel's genocide in Gaza by the numbers."
The move sparked criticism in Israel amid claims of bias in educational content in European countries. IMPACT-se, an organization that has examined textbooks in several countries, has previously claimed that Ireland presents the conflict in a biased manner and that some content reflects "hostility and disinformation," at times also toward Judaism and Jews.
The organization said the bias in Ireland's education system stems, in its view, either from ignorance or from a deliberate trend that promotes a predominantly Palestinian narrative, especially since the events of Oct. 7.
Ireland is considered one of the most critical countries of Israel in Europe. It supports various initiatives for sanctions in the European Union and is also advancing legislation to restrict trade with Judea and Samaria. It has also recently assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, a move that has raised concern in Jerusalem over the possible promotion of anti-Israel initiatives during its tenure.
