Israeli public diplomacy is about to lose one of its trump cards — the argument that "Palestinian" textbooks are fraught with incitement and delegitimize the other side. This card is always played after the "there-is-no-Palestinian-partner" joker. A new US-government-funded study undermines this argument, to great uproar in Israel. The study reveals that though Israeli textbooks don't contain explicit incitement, they are guilty of marginalizing the other side. It may be that the Palestinian side has more incitement towards hatred, but when it comes to the Israeli side, incitement sometimes comes in the form of erasing "the other." In other words, "We're the only ones here, and the other side has no history, geography or political existence."

Al-Monitor has learned that upon receiving a copy of the study, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, headed by Moshe Ya'alon, went to great lengths to prevent its publication, scheduled for this coming Monday, Feb. 4.

The Ministry of Education has also marshaled its forces against the study, with whose authors it refused to cooperate. Publishing a strongly worded statement, the ministry said that the "study was biased, unprofessional and seriously lacking in objectivity." The statement continues, "Clearly, this was a 'study' whose results were known even before it was professionally conducted, and it certainly does not reflect reality in a credible manner."

The Ministry of Education further questions the "attempt to make a comparison between the Israeli educational system and the Palestinian one — a comparison which is baseless and groundless. The Ministry of Education had chosen not to cooperate with people seeking to slander the Israeli educational system and the State of Israel. The outcome of the 'study' suggests that the decision not to cooperate with these people was correct and justified."