Hasan’s Academies of Hope use a modified version of the Palestinian Authority curriculum, removing passages the charity considers antisemitic, anti-Israel, or supportive of violence.By Debbie Weiss, The AlgemeinerA US-based charity educating thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza plans to use artificial intelligence to monitor classroom conversations for antisemitism and incitement, part of an effort to overhaul a school curriculum long criticized for glorifying terrorism and promoting hatred of Israel.Gaza Children Village, founded by Palestinian-American neurosurgeon Dr. David Hasan, intends to install AI-powered microphones in dozens of classrooms to detect language deemed “antisemitic,” “inciting,” or “hateful,” according to an Associated Press report published Friday.The proposed system would analyze classroom discussions and alert Hasan to potentially problematic language, allowing him to review recordings and transcripts before contacting teachers. Recordings would be stored for 72 hours.“I know it’s controversial, but trust me, it’s the only way we feel for us to survive and deliver this curriculum,” Hasan told humanitarian organizations during a webinar last month, according to AP.The initiative comes amid longstanding concerns over antisemitism and incitement in Palestinian schools, compounded by mounting evidence of Hamas infiltration of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which operated hundreds of schools in Gaza before the war.In June, the US Agency for International Development’s inspector general said it had referred 101 current and former UNRWA employees for possible suspension or debarment from US-funded programs over their alleged involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel or affiliation with the terrorist group’s military wing.Those identified included teachers and school principals allegedly serving as Hamas commanders, intelligence operatives, and weapons specialists.One school principal was assigned to a Hamas military manufacturing unit, according to the investigation, while his school had three anti-tank positions and a tunnel shaft beneath it.In a further update in August, the watchdog said three former UNRWA teachers had been proposed for debarment, including two accused of involvement in kidnapping or holding Israeli hostages during the Oct. 7 attacks.A former UNRWA school principal had already been barred from US government contracting and grant programs after investigators found that he had coordinated communications with suspected Hamas members during the massacre.Separately, a July investigation by the education watchdog IMPACT-se, reported by The Algemeiner, accused UNRWA of failing to implement promised reforms intended to eliminate antisemitism and glorification of terrorism from educational materials.The watchdog said the agency had completed only a small fraction of the measures in its initial reform plan following a 2024 independent review of its neutrality, while textbooks continued to promote jihad, martyrdom, and hostility toward Jews and Israel.UNRWA has denied that Hamas has infiltrated the agency as an institution. A separate UN investigation in 2024 concluded that nine employees may have participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, and their employment was terminated.Hasan’s Academies of Hope use a modified version of the Palestinian Authority curriculum, removing passages the charity considers antisemitic, anti-Israel, or supportive of violence.In an interview with the Jewish Chronicle published last week, Hasan detailed several changes, including replacing a mathematics problem comparing numbers of Palestinian “martyrs” killed during the two intifadas with an exercise involving a soccer match.An Islamic studies passage about Jews attempting to kill the Prophet Muhammad, which was replaced with material emphasizing his respect for Jews.A passage praising Dalal Mughrabi, who led the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in which 38 Israeli civilians were murdered, was replaced with one about Palestinian educator Hind al-Husseini.An Islamic studies passage about Jews attempting to kill the Prophet Muhammad was rewritten to emphasize his respect for Jews.The curriculum also introduces lessons about Judaism, Christianity, and the displacement of Jews from Arab and Muslim countries, alongside the Palestinian experience of displacement in 1948.“We try to give these kids for the first time a different lens, a different narrative to see and interact with the world,” Hasan told the Jewish Chronicle.The charity also screens prospective employees. Hasan said candidates undergo Israeli and American counterterrorism vetting, while applicants with previous employment ties to Hamas or UNRWA are excluded.Prospective teachers also complete a psychological questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward violence and revenge, while consultants can join classes remotely without warning.Hasan said the AI technology, still in the prototype stage, would provide an additional safeguard against teachers reverting to material that promotes hatred.“We’re not going to risk having people maliciously come in and infiltrate our system and teach bad things. It is a safety net,” he told the Jewish Chronicle.Marcus Sheff, CEO of the education watchdog IMPACT-se, called the initiative “extraordinarily smart and important,” saying it was “obvious” that change was necessary in Gaza education.“Any attempt to de-radicalize the educational system in Gaza is critically important. October the 7th is a direct result of radicalization and indoctrination of a policy and authority education system taught both by UNRWA and by Hamas, the two school systems in Gaza,” Sheff told The Algemeiner.The proposed monitoring has nevertheless prompted objections from some Palestinian activists and people affiliated with the charity.Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American political activist serving on Gaza Children Village’s board, told AP that he had not been informed of the plans and that they had not been presented to the board.“Cameras to monitor the performance of students and teachers is acceptable. But cameras to silence students and teachers from being able to have a free exchange in a classroom are not acceptable,” Bahbah said.An official at an unnamed partner organization also raised concerns about monitoring classroom speech and said the plan could jeopardize its cooperation with the charity.AP reported that the technology had already been tested, although no timetable for its broader deployment has been announced.Hasan previously said the system was developed in collaboration with New York-based nonprofit PollyLabs, which told AP it had no role in developing or deploying the technology.The charity has also attracted support from Israeli and Jewish donors and humanitarian organizations.Its website lists Israeli relief groups IsraAid and NATAN among its partners, alongside World Central Kitchen, which provides meals to students.According to Hasan, an Israeli businessman whose daughter was murdered with her boyfriend at the Nova music festival during Oct. 7 massacres donated money to keep several academies operating after a funding shortfall threatened their closure.Gaza Children Village’s website lists 14 academies serving more than 21,000 children, although Hasan told the Jewish Chronicle last week that an expansion had brought the number to 30 schools serving nearly 25,000 pupils.The initiative is operating amid a severe education crisis in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children remain out of school following three years of war.The academies provide meals, healthcare, and psychological support alongside classroom instruction.Hasan, who volunteered in Gaza’s hospitals during the war and also visited Israeli communities devastated by the Oct. 7 attacks, said his aim was to help Palestinian children build a future without perpetuating the conflict.“You have to find a way forward and try to rebuild bridges,” he told the Jewish Chronicle.The post US charity to use AI to detect ‘hateful,’ ‘antisemitic’ speech in Gaza classrooms appeared first on World Israel News.