Wait. Public schools cannot mention Jesus in umpteen other contexts. His name may not be spoken on public property to hear the ACLU tell it. So how can this book be "kosher" with the ACLU stance on "Church and State"? To hear Christopher Hitchens tell it, Jesus never even existed.
Here's a link on the textbook:
http://www.sfsocialstudies.com/g6/index.html
And here's a lesson on Palestine:
http://sf.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0837349.html
Palestine (păl'ustīn) [key], historic region on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, at various times comprising parts of modern Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and Egypt; also known as the Holy Land. The name is derived from a word meaning “land of the Philistines.” This article discusses mainly the geography and the history of Palestine until the United Nations took up the Palestine problem in 1947; for the economy and later history, see Israel, Jordan, and West Bank.In the Bible, Palestine is called Canaan before the invasion of Joshua; the usual Hebrew name is Eretz Israel [land of Israel]. Palestine is the Holy Land of Jews, having been promised to them by God; of Christians because it was the scene of Jesus' life; and of Muslims because they consider Islam to be the heir of Judaism and Christianity and because Jerusalem is the site, according to Muslim tradition, of Muhammad's ascent to heaven. The Holy Land derives its special character from being a place of pilgrimage. Shrines, shared in common by several religions, cluster most numerously in and about Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Hebron.
And Israel:
http://sf.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0825647.html
Israel (iz'rēul) [key], officially State of Israel, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,277,000, including Israelis in occupied Arab territories), 7,992 sq mi (20,700 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea. (The area figure used above does not include the Golan Heights or the West Bank, which are occupied by Israel.) It is bordered by Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east, the Mediterranean Sea on the west, Egypt on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba (an arm of the Red Sea) on the south. The capital and largest city of Israel is Jerusalem. This article deals primarily with the events in Israel from 1948 to the present. For the earlier history of the region, see Palestine.
Not sure why you edited from the original "published by Scott Foresman," but it does make it unclear that Scott Foresman is an educational publisher, not an individual (it used to be written "Scott, Foresman & Co." years ago!).
Which brings up the problem of educational publishers: elementary and high school ("el-hi" in the trade) have to be "adopted" by state boards of education; some adopt one textbook per course, and some issue a list of approved texts. The publishers wouldn't be doing this if it didn't help them win state adoptions.
Into the 60s, at least some educational publishers issued two separate history books, under the same name and almost the same except for treatment of the Civil War, to win adoption in northern and southern states.