In Jerusalem, where about half a million Palestinians live, school education at all stages is subject to two
types of curriculum: The first is the Palestinian curriculum, which is carried out under the auspices of the
Palestinian Ministry of Education, as is the case in other schools in the occupied territories. The second
is subject to the Israeli curriculum, and studies indicate that about 100,000 students, with a rate of 46%
of the Palestinian students, are subject to the Israeli curriculum. Despite the Palestinian rejection of it
and the continuous protests, the Israeli governments and the Jerusalem municipality impose this
curriculum, which the Palestinians consider an Israeli attempt to Israeli education. This reality, in
addition to the violating of national, social, cultural and Palestinian rights, also constitutes a
contradiction in the curricula for the same social group, which creates confusion among students due to
this division of the curriculum in the same city.
At the outset, it is important to point out that East Jerusalem is an area occupied in 1967 like the rest of
the occupied territories, and it is forbidden for the occupying power to make any change in its political,
social and educational reality, and it is forbidden for this occupying power to impose its culture, policies,
and educational curriculum on the population under occupation. However, an Israeli, in flagrant
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, international legitimacy, and the principles of human rights,
deals with Jerusalem as an Israeli territory after its annexation in the first months of the occupation, and
this policy continued to apply the fait accompli in all aspects of life to serve this policy, in addition to
declaring it the capital of the State of Israel. The application of Israeli law and its annexation and
declaring it its capital have been rejected by the United Nations institutions, and the Palestinians in the
city and outside consider these measures to come in the context of the ongoing policy of the occupation
to create a reality for the displacement of Palestinians in favor of more settlement in the neighborhoods
of the city through the policy of racial discrimination, the demolition of homes and the closure of the
city And isolating it from its surroundings in the West Bank, and distinguishing it from it by issuing blue
Israeli identity cards for the city's residents, and imposing the occupation municipality on the city. The
imposition of the Israeli curriculum on schools in the city is one of the most dangerous policies, as seen
by the Palestinians, because it affects their national and social identity.
The imposition of the Israeli curriculum on 150 schools in Jerusalem in the primary and secondary
educational stages included the deletion of everything that refers to the Palestinian national identity,
such as the Nakba, which refers to the displacement of 60% of the Palestinians from their lands, homes,
and villages, and turning them into refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and neighboring countries
such as Jordan and Lebanon. Syria and many countries in the world. This term, which refers to the most
important tragic historical event that the Palestinian people were subjected to, has been removed from
the Israeli curriculum imposed on students in Jerusalem. Likewise, terms such as the Israeli occupation
of Palestine, the reference to the Temple Mount instead of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the removal of the
Palestinian flag and a Palestinian map from the curriculum, and the removal of many Among the
materials in the subject of history, which refer to the Palestinian history in Jerusalem and Palestine, And
canceling the morning Palestinian national anthem in schools, ...etc. All of them have been deleted
under the pretext that they are inflammatory materials and terms.
On the other hand, the Zionist culture and identity was imposed in the Israeli curriculum in Palestinian
schools that are subject to the Israeli and municipal encyclopedia, such as: confirming that Jerusalem is
the capital of the State of Israel, highlighting the Israeli flag in books, mentioning the State of Israel, and
many Jewish religious terms such as the Promised Land, and presenting a document The Israeli
independence, in which the Palestinians see the document of their displacement and their catastrophe,
came months after the displacement and the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, and perhaps the
inclusion of this document of independence is the most severe for students, their families, and the
Palestinian society in general. Celebrating in schools the Israeli Independence Day is a harsh policy for
students to learn The Palestinian is this document, which attempts to obliterate the Nakba and what
happened in it, because it is a policy to impose the Zionist narrative on them. It is a war on the
Palestinian national consciousness and constitutes a psychological violation in addition to being a
national and social occupation violation, as Zakaria Odeh, the coordinator of the Civil Coalition for Civil
Society and Human Rights in Jerusalem, pointed out.
The Palestinian struggle and resistance to the family policy of education in Jerusalem began weeks after
the approval of the education law by the Israeli authorities after the occupation in 1967. At that time,
many parents refused to send their children to schools that follow the Israeli curriculum in accordance
with this law, and preferred to send their children to schools run by Islamic endowments, those run by
churches and NGOs, and schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA) in camps located in Jerusalem such as Shuafat camp. Over time, this resistance
developed and continued against the policy of the Israeli policy of education in Jerusalem, where civil
society organizations, civil society organizations, and national and Islamic forces were formed, which
have led and still are resisting this policy. Perhaps the famous strike in September 2022, which included
150 schools, is the most famous strike against this policy. Head of the Union of Students' Parents in
Jerusalem Schools, Ziad Shamali, stated, "The official and popular position in Jerusalem is that it strongly
rejects teaching the Israeli curriculum and the Zionist narrative to our students, and we demand that the
Palestinian curriculum should be taught."
During this widespread strike, where 100,000 students abstained from studying until the Israeli
curriculum was canceled and replaced with the Palestinian curriculum, as is the case in the occupied
territories in general. Civil and national committees were formed in these neighborhoods to manage the
strike, and specific slogans were raised emphasizing the right of students to learn the Palestinian
curriculum because Jerusalem is an occupied city, and also the inclusion of everything related to the
Palestinian national identity to be within the curriculum. On the national identity of our children) and we
refuse to accept the Israeli curriculum in our schools) and (yes to the Palestinian curriculum, no to the
distorted Israeli curriculum that aims to distort the awareness of Palestinian students). All schools in the
West Bank, which declared a strike in solidarity with the schools in Jerusalem, also expressed solidarity.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education announced a solidarity program that includes all schools in the
West Bank by stopping education and giving educational morning lectures to students about what is
happening in Jerusalem schools. In this context, the media spokesman for the Union of Teachers in
Jerusalem, Mr. Ahmed Al-Safadi, affirmed, "The strike and solidarity of West Bank schools with
Jerusalem schools against Israeli policy of education in Jerusalem is a clear message to stop attack on
the Palestinian national and cultural identity in Jerusalem schools." The Palestinians described the strike
and the resistance to teaching the Israeli curriculum to Palestinian students as "the battle of education
and the dedication of national awareness and the Palestinian narrative about what happened and is still
happening in Jerusalem and Palestine in general." It is the battle over awareness as described by the
Palestinians in Jerusalem. The Israeli violations regarding the imposition of the Israeli curriculum in
Jerusalem schools is one of the issues that the Palestinians will continue to struggle to stop, as it
constitutes an assault on their rights guaranteed in accordance with international laws. It was also
confirmed by many statements issued by civil society institutions and national forces in Jerusalem
Author: Ahmad Jaradat - Alternative Information Center - Palestine