Israel Labeled ‘Palestine’ in Map Hung in Brooklyn Elementary School

By Matis Glenn

A teacher at a Brooklyn elementary school displayed a map of the middle east which referred to Israel as “Palestine” for several years, sources familiar with the situation told Hamodia.

Rita Lahoud, a Palestinian-American teacher at P.S. 261, hung the map in her classroom, where she teaches a class as part of the school’s Arab Culture Arts Program.

The map, entitled “Arab World,” features countries across the middle east and Africa, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Palestine is not recognized as a nation by the United Nations or the United States.

After news of the map came out and the school faced backlash, Principal Erica Davis instructed Lahoud to remove the display, the sources said.

The Arab Culture Arts program is funded by Qatar Foundation International (QFI), the American branch of the Qatar Foundation, an organization controlled by the Qatari ruling family, the New York Post reported.

The school has not released a response to the incident, and has instructed the office to tell members of the media, including Hamodia, that all inquiries should be sent to the Department of Education’s email address.

In a now-deleted post to social media, QFI proudly posted a picture of the map, captioning it with the message: “We love seeing Arabic classroom decorations!”

The Free Press reports that DOE Spokesman Nathaniel Styer said that “this is a map of countries that speak Arabic,” when asked about why Israel is referred to as Palestine.

However, Arabic is spoken by around 20% of Israel’s population; far more than the 2% of Somalians who speak Arabic fluently or who are racially Arab – yet Somalia, a predominantly Muslim country, is featured on the map.

When asked if the map was still on display after the October 7 massacre, Styer reportedly said “Why would it not be?”

The Post reports that QFI has donated over $1 million to the Department of Education between 2019 and 2022.

P.S. 261’s mission statement, featured prominently on the homepage of its website reads: “To create a school community that promotes cross-cultural relationships that value diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice across staff, families, and students.”

At the time of writing, Lahoud’s profile on QFI’s website has been removed, though the page appears on an internet search.