“Remember what Amalek did unto thee…” (Deuteronomy 25:17)

Education Minister Shai Piron is proposing a change in Holocaust education in Israel.  According the the Times of Israel, his new plan would include compulsory Holocaust studies in each of the twelve years of school.  He first mentioned the plan on Israel’s Channel 2 news, during an official trip to Poland.

Full details of the plan will be announced in the coming months, the news agency reported, but it was designed in conjunction with Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial museum and education center.  Currently, Israeli students engage in extensive Holocaust studies in eleventh grade, often culminating in a visit to Poland.  Prior to that, any exposure to Holocaust education is at the discretion of the teacher.  Of course, schools do conduct annual memorial events at all levels on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Education Ministry claims that the study units will be age-appropriate.  Younger children will not be exposed to graphic images and stories, but will focus on themes such as the dangers of baseless hatred and the importance of tolerance.  Lectures will become more detailed as the children get older.