Leading UK publisher Hachette has pulled a school history textbook where children are asked to “reflect” on how Israel caused 9/11.
Hachette UK, which owns the brand Hodder Education, published the book titled Understanding History: Britain in the Wider World, Roman Times – Present for secondary school students aged 11-14.
The publisher said it has now removed the book from sale following accusations that it was “peddling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” that Israel and the Jews are to blame for the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001.
In a section of the book titled “What caused the 9/11 attacks?” there is a passage of text which explains about the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The textbook says that following Israel’s war of independence, “most Muslim nations have supported the Palestinians and accused the West of favouring Israel”.
Students are then asked to “reflect” on “how it could be argued that the creation of Israel was a long-term cause of the 9/11 attacks”.
The publisher’s response has come after The Zionist Federation (ZF) wrote to the publisher stating that the suggestion that Israel’s creation is “somehow linked” to the terrorist atrocities of 9/11 is “entirely baseless, inappropriate and unacceptable”.
A spokesman for Hachette UK, which owns the brand Hodder Education, said: “We have taken onboard the comments we have received regarding a section within our Understanding History book and have removed the textbook from sale. We plan to review and revise the content before reissuing the textbook”.
