The Council of Christians and Jews in Britain is undertaking a survey to investigate the subject matter of history textbooks for young adolescents and to determine whether a “fair and adequate treatment has been accorded the different human groups–national, racial, social, cultural and religious–or whether, through omission or the exaggeration of conscious bias, the history textbooks tend to promote intolerant attitudes and to perpetuate misconceptions.”
Protestant churches, Catholic and Jewish groups, UNESCO, teachers, authors and publishers were represented at the Council meeting. The parley was presided over by Prof. J.A. Lauwerys, of London University’s Institute of Education, who expressed the view that “in children’s literature, Jews had much cause for complaint because again and again they were portrayed as ‘nasty creatures’.” A steering committee was appointed to start the investigation and it is expected that an interim report will be ready in about six months.
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