Saudi Arabia removes antisemitic content from school textbooks

Saudi Arabia has removed remaining instances of antisemitic and extremist content from its 2025–2026 school textbooks as part of curriculum reforms aligned with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 modernization goals. According to reports from the education watchdog IMPACT-se, the revisions aim to promote religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Key changes include the removal of passages that compared religious minorities to maimed animals, suggested Jews were destined for hell, or discouraged Muslims from befriending Jews and Christians. The curriculum also eliminated claims that Jewish influence contributed to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Regarding Israel, the textbooks have moderated language, replacing terms like “the Zionist enemy” with “the Israeli occupation,” and deleting the statement that “Muslims will never give up Jerusalem.”

Further revisions include updated material on jihad and warfare. A Grade 9 textbook now explicitly prohibits harming noncombatants, and a Grade 12 textbook no longer celebrates martyrdom in battle. While the changes have been praised by Israeli researchers for improving the treatment of religious minorities in educational materials, the report noted that Israel remains unnamed on official maps and the Holocaust receives minimal coverage.