Palestinian media and social media reported this week that two teachers at a Hebron high school for boys, Khalil Abu Sharkh and Muhammad 'Odeh, gave their students a physics exam in which one of the questions mentioned the terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi, the perpetrator of two recent shootings, at a checkpoint in Shu'afat in East Jerusalem and at the entrance to the town of Ma'ale Adumim. A picture of the exam paper posted to Facebook by one of the teachers, Khalil Abu Sharkh , who is a Fatah activist in Hebron, was widely circulated online and elicited many supportive responses, including from the Palestinian Authority's newspaper and television channel.
The following are details about the exam question and some of the responses to it.
Hebron Teacher Proudly Posts The Exam Paper On Facebook: "Physics Scented with the Blood of the Martyrs"
On October 27, teacher Khalil Abu Sharkh shared on his Facebook account a photo of the exam paper with the question mentioning 'Uday Al-Tamimi, and commented, "Physics Scented with the Blood of the Martyrs. May Allah have mercy on the martyr 'Uday Al-Tamimi." The question reads: "The schematic illustration represents the route taken by the martyr 'Uday Al-Tamimi from the Shu'afat refugee camp to the entrance to the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. Calculate (for 5 points)
"1. The distance traveled by the martyr from the refugee camp to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
"2. The displacement between the Shu'afat refugee camp and the place of his martyrdom at the junction [at the entrance] to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
"3. If the martyr had been able to retrace his steps to his point of departure in the Shu'afat refugee camp, what would the displacement of [his path] be?" [1]
The question on the exam paper
Khalil Abu Sharkh is a Fatah activist and the deputy chair of Fatah's teachers bureau in Hebron. Following Al-Tamimi's death he published a series of Facebook posts praising him.[2] Recently he also praised the PA security officers who joined the Lions' Den militia.[3]
Palestinian Media, Social Media Users Praise The Teachers' "Creativity"
The photo of the exam paper was widely circulated on social media and elicited approving responses. The PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida wrote on its Facebook account: "The teachers Muhammad 'Odeh and Khalil Abu Sharkh drew a connection between the heroism of the martyr 'Uday Al-Tamimi and the field of physics when they presented their students with a question about the heroism of 'Uday, who carried out the operations in Shu'afat and Ma'ale Adumim." The post was accompanied by a photo of the exam and of Al-Tamimi, captioned "'Uday Al-Tamimi's heroism – material for two Palestinian teachers."[4]
The post on the Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Facebook page
The exam question was also featured on the Facebook page of the Palestinian Authority's television channel, which posted a picture of Al-Tamimi with the caption "Al-Tamimi's operation on a Physics exam question."[5]
The post on the Facebook page of the Palestinian television channel
Palestinian and Arab social media users commended the two teachers for their "nice idea" and "creativity," stating that this is an excellent way to combine the study material with real life and teach about the Palestinian "acts of heroism."[6] User @Allam9900 shared a photo of the exam paper and remarked: "Jihad needs more than just gunpowder."[7]
[1] Facebook.com/khalil.abusharkh, October 27, 2022.
[2] Facebook.com/khalil.abusharkh, October 19, 2022.
[3] Facebook.com/khalil.abusharkh, October 25, 2022.
[4] Facebook.com/alhayaps/, October 27, 2022.
[5] F acebook.com/PalestineTV, October 27, 2022.
[6] Facebook.com/Tulkaremnewss, October 27, 2022.
[7] twitter.com/Allam9900, October 27, 2022.
