Shoah studies to be mandatory in Spain?
Spanish parliament preparing to vote on amendment that would make Holocaust studies obligatory for all students in country
According to the Spanish publication El Pais, the People's Party (a Spanish political party) had suggested the new bylaw for approval to Spain's lower house.
The course would be offered at "various stages of basic education."
The bylaw is one of many new initiatives in Spain, as part of the Organic Act for the Improvement of Educational Quality, to promote peaceful conflict resolution, and put a particular emphasis on the importance of human rights and democracy.
Spanish news agency Europa Press reports that Isaac Querub, the president of Spain's Federation of Jewish Communities, said the amendment "certainly represents progress," however, he would have preferred a "more comprehensive amendment, explaining the general history of the Jewish people."
"Unless the Holocaust is contextualized, it will give a distorted image of the history of the Jewish people," he added.
Querub noted that the Anti-Defamation League had recently conducted a survey on anti-Semitism in Europe, and found that such behavior in Spain was more common than in other European nations.
"We believe that a better understanding of the Jews and their historical development limits bias," he said to Europa Press.
It has not been confirmed yet when the vote will take place.
