Putting Children First

Posted by Juan Carlos Hidalgo

Last week’s The Economist reported this regarding the bad blood between Turkey and Israel over the latter’s recent military incursion into Gaza:

An education ministry circular particularly annoyed Israel by telling Turkish schoolchildren to observe a minute’s silence in solidarity with Palestinian children. In the event, the Israelis persuaded the Turks to cancel a proposed essay and drawing contest for schoolchildren to air their feelings of hatred towards Israel. Israeli officials were apparently poised to respond by proposing a programme in Israeli schools for discussing the genocide of Armenians by Turks in the first world war.

I guess this is one of the many “wonders” of public schooling. You can take diplomatic rows to the classroom and teach your children how to distrust your neighbor.