The following is the text of a Jerusalem Story Roundtable discussion that took place September 21, 2024, as the school year got underway in Jerusalem.

We invited a group of Palestinian Jerusalemites who work in education or are parents with children in Jerusalem schools to come together on Zoom and discuss the challenges the Palestinian community in the city faces educating its children:

Khalil Assali is a journalist and father of students who attended Jerusalem schools as well as a member of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Council.

Mounir Marjieh is a legal researcher and coordinator of the advocacy unit at the Community Action Center, Al-Quds University.

Dr. Audeh Quawas is the CEO of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Schools in Palestine and a member of the World Council of Churches Central and Executive Committees.

Nivine Sandouka is Chair of the Board of Directors of Hoqoqona (Our Rights), a Jerusalem-based NGO that focuses on civil and political rights of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, as well as the mother of a ninth grader enrolled in school in Jerusalem.

The Roundtable took place on Saturday, September 21, 2024, on Zoom and was organized and moderated by journalist Daoud Kuttab for Jerusalem Story.

Daoud Kuttab: We begin the Roundtable with a general overview of the educational situation in East Jerusalem and a quick summary of the right to education in international law, presented by Mounir Marjieh.

Mounir Marjieh: When reviewing the education situation in [East] Jerusalem, it is important to point out the occupation’s ongoing attempts to Israelize education through a systematic strategy that includes both intimidation and enticement.

In addition to pressuring, persecuting, and abusing students, the Israeli government and the Jerusalem Municipality have implemented two consecutive five-year plans regarding education in Jerusalem. In 2018, the Israeli government approved a comprehensive five-year plan entitled “Narrowing the Economic and Social Gaps in East Jerusalem,” which allocated a budget of NIS 2 billion to East Jerusalem with the declared goal of “strengthening Israeli sovereignty in East Jerusalem.” The plan [referred to as Decision 3790] includes allocations for improving transportation, education, employment, social care, and health.

In 2023, the Israeli government approved a five-year plan worth NIS 3.2 billion, also titled “Reducing the Social and Economic Gap and Economic Development of East Jerusalem for the Period 2024–2028.” The new five-year plan continues to be implemented in the previous plan. The new plan allocates much more money than the old plan, as the old plan allocated approximately NIS 500 million to the education sector, while the new one allocated approximately NIS 800 million to the education sector.

Regarding education, the plan is clear about its goals: It states that the goal is to increase the percentage of Palestinian students in East Jerusalem who study the Israeli curriculum (as opposed to the Palestinian curriculum), support technological education, deepen knowledge of the Hebrew language, and encourage the adoption of the Israeli curriculum.

International humanitarian law stipulates that it is the responsibility of the occupying power, in cooperation with national and local authorities, to facilitate the proper functioning of all institutions dedicated to the education of children. As the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has stated, “Education is a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights.” The importance of this right is reflected in the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law applicable to situations of belligerent occupation. Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention clearly states, “The occupying power shall, in cooperation with the national and local authorities, facilitate the proper functioning of all institutions devoted to the education of children.”1

Daoud Kuttab: Thank you, Mounir. Dr. Audeh Quawas, please give us a quick overview of how all this affects the Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, especially since you are involved in finding solutions to the crisis facing the St. Demetrios (Mar Mitri) High School [a private school in the Old City that is owned and run by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate—Ed.] in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Dr. Audeh Quawas: I want to separate the subject of Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank areas, because it is clear that the focus of this Roundtable is Jerusalem, which suffers from other problems that our brother Mounir did not mention and that are not related to the Israeli ten-year or five-year plans. We at the Mar Mitri School do not suffer from any pressure to introduce the Israeli bagrut. We see that there is intense pressure to make it mandatory to teach books issued by the Israeli Ministry of Education, which is the same curriculum as the Palestinian Ministry of Education, but from an Israeli perspective. Therefore, if the book that the [Palestinian] student is carrying in his backpack has the logo of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) and narrates Palestinian history, a warning is issued or the school is closed down or something similar—even for the books in the school warehouses. We must use the books of the Israeli Ministry of Education that distort the history of the Palestinian cause and normalize occupation.

This is the main problem that we suffer from at the governmental level.

In 2010, Mar Mitri School took money from the Israeli Ministry of Education. I realize that the responsible committee felt that this would cover the financial shortage for teachers’ salaries, but it became clear a year or two later that [by accepting such funding], you are forced to fully implement the Israeli work systems, and this increased the cost to the institution by more than 300 percent regardless of whether the teachers are from Jerusalem or elsewhere in the West Bank.

I want to summarize the situation of educational institutions inside the Old City walls. I am concerned with East Jerusalem as a whole, but also inside the walls.

Daoud Kuttab: Nivine Sandouka, you are the mother of a student and at the same time, you have a human rights organization. What do you think about the issue of unfair competition?

Nivine Sandouka: Before I start, I would like to clarify that considering the general context, we are talking about a poverty rate exceeding 70 percent in East Jerusalem. About 80 percent of young students are below the poverty line in East Jerusalem. So when we talk about this system, we are saying that the average Palestinian Jerusalemite student will be forced to go to an educational institution affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Education, as only a few can afford to pay the fees for private schools. Most parents send their children to Israeli establishment schools. Those children study the Israeli curriculum and take the bagrut—that is, we are talking about a special class that sends its children to private schools whose job is to teach them different curricula such as SATs, IGCSEs, IB, and then a small number who study the PA’s curriculum at their schools.

As a mother, I always find myself in a dilemma—between a rock and a hard place, as they say. The Israeli curriculum, on the one hand, completely erases the Palestinian identity and history. But on the other hand, it will equip my son with the subjects he will need to enter the job market in the future. It will teach him the Hebrew language and provide him with valuable connections, as well as an understanding of the realities in Jerusalem. This knowledge will empower him to advocate for his rights and improve his future. Thus, the chance of being accepted into Israeli universities may be higher, and consequently, the chance of getting a good, profitable, and rewarding job may be higher in the future. But on the other hand, as a Palestinian, as a Palestinian mother, I live under Israeli occupation—an occupation that denies my Palestinian existence. The Israeli curriculum and everything that happens around me wants to end my existence and my identity. The Israeli curriculum does not mention the Nakba and the Palestinian narrative from 1948 and before, or 1967 [when Israel occupied East Jerusalem]. This curriculum doesn’t nurture the Palestinian identity, which, in my opinion, may be more important than the subjects the children will study later. We are comparing what our children get with what happens in the villages and cities of the north [inside Israel].

Daoud Kuttab: You chose the College des Frères school for your son.

Nivine Sandouka: My son is in the Frères school, it is true, and it costs me a lot of money, and there is a lot of psychological pressure to succeed and get good grades, so he does not take the Tawjihi, because the school doesn’t provide a solid foundation in the Arabic language. He has to achieve a high GPA that allows him to perform on the SAT exams and obtain the international baccalaureate, so he can avoid studying Tawjihi in Palestine. I mean, we have this pressure in private schools—you feel it—and parents, in addition to the financial burden, have this psychological burden all the time.

On the other hand, I see that for the children who graduated from schools that follow the [Israeli] bagrut, there is less pressure on the students. But at the same time, although the students’ personalities may be more open, and they may have better opportunities for the future, they are losing their Palestinian identity. I mean, once again compared to inside [Israel], when you talk to Palestinians [from the 1948 areas], with all due respect, most of what they say is in Hebrew, not Arabic. You talk to them about the Palestinian issue, and they do not understand the identity or the history and heritage. What is happening now [in the realm of education] is a serious crime at an extremely high level, which I believe is closely connected to the erosion of Palestinian identity.

In the Jerusalem schools, I see it as a mother when I go to take my son to school in every area, there is a noticeable and very large dropout rate of students from schools, and in certain places, drug use among students, use of electronic and regular cigarettes in a terrible way—words, expressions—I mean you see a generation heading in the direction of complete loss. The parents are absent; the school tells you, “It is not our role to raise your children.” The teacher’s job is to educate, and the parents’ job is to raise their children well. When families don’t fulfill this role, the police become involved. As a result, a generation is lost.

Additionally, there is exceedingly high competition. Whoever has money sends their children to private schools. Private schools have 40 students in each class. And there is one class. This is against the law. There should be three sections for this many students. But what is the alternative in Jerusalem?

Daoud Kuttab: Khalil Assali, you are a father, and your children studied in a private school in the city, but you also have a relationship with the waqf, and there was a comment about the waqf. What is your opinion?

Khalil Assali: First, allow me to make two comments. Regarding the issue of student dropouts: Yes, there is a dangerous phenomenon in Jerusalem, and the students have really lost their way, as Nivine mentioned. Especially since the Israeli schools do not work to preserve the Palestinian identity, the Jerusalemite identity, or even the personal identity. I mean, this generation is a completely lost generation. The schools hold a responsibility in this regard, because the students come into the school not knowing who they are and what they are learning. Are they Jerusalemites learning Jerusalemite notions, or something completely different? They do not know.

The other thing is that the Jerusalemite identity is expressed, first and foremost, through the Arabic language. When a student can’t speak their own language among their fellow classmates, what identity are we talking about? [Note: The majority of private schools for Palestinians in Jerusalem have adopted an international curriculum taught in English or French, with Arabic as a second language. Some parents have followed suit and speak English or French at home as well.—Ed.]

There isn’t a unified strategy for all educational institutions. Every school functions as it pleases, which has resulted in a lost generation.

Israel succeeded in dismantling the unified educational structure in Jerusalem and seizing its assets. Today, it holds the upper hand over most institutions, and even the few that remain are not up to the challenge posed by the occupation. They fail to provide an attractive alternative. Look at the awqaf and PA schools—they are dysfunctional, but they provide good education when teachers take it upon themselves to educate.

Daoud Kuttab: Dr. Quawas, what you said at the beginning, that there is unfair competition between private schools and waqf schools—I did not understand what you meant.

Dr. Audeh Quawas: I said there’s a competition between the Christian schools themselves. The waqf does not engage in that competition.

Daoud Kuttab: What do you want from the waqf? You said you want an answer from the waqf.

Dr. Audeh Quwwas: This is what I want from the waqf. I mean, it gets support and teaches Arabic and Islamic classes. Of course, it has a large budget that [other] countries support, whether they are countries to which it belongs or support from other countries, Islamic countries, but it is only interested in the 14—I do not know exactly—14 or more waqf-affiliated schools in Jerusalem. Therefore, we must look at the subject from a national perspective, nothing more.

Daoud Kuttab: When you spoke with the Ministry of Waqf in Jordan, what did they tell you?

Dr. Quawas: They said, “Aren’t your schools owned by churches, sir? Your churches are rich.” What I want from the Islamic waqf in Jerusalem is to provide us with the financial support required for continuity in the Old City in the same way that the waqf does in its schools in the Old City. This support from the waqf will help us increase the number of students and the number of classes and allow families to remain in the Old City.

There is a small point I would like to make, and I think it is very important because we need to make a sharp distinction between the Israeli influence on the education system or the school system in East Jerusalem, and between all the controversies and internal conflict among the Palestinian people. We merge between the two things, and we find ourselves in a place that we cannot get out of.

Regardless of the value and quality of the Israeli curriculum being passed on to the schools, these schools are undergoing Israelization efforts that aim to indoctrinate and assimilate. I mean, the literature written on these topics [shows that] the adverse impact such an education has on our children far outweighs the benefit that could come to them if they grow up to add a couple of extra thousand shekels to their paychecks due to the Israelized education they received. So, this is a question that we must address to experts in the field. The increase in the budget of schools that have applied the Israeli curriculum is subject to experts who contribute to the limitation of education in Jerusalem in order to serve Israeli interests, not those of the Palestinian people. I mean, every people, not just the Palestinian people, must ask this question: How can we develop educational programs for children to build better generations? This is a question that is relevant all the time, especially vis-à-vis the Israeli influence. The Israeli system forces us to work or teach our children certain content. This is particularly important, and it will have an adverse impact on the future.

Daoud Kuttab: Honestly, I am not afraid for our children from a national perspective. Anyone who sees what is happening in Palestine and who lives near al-Aqsa Mosque and sees Israeli oppression every day will not be affected by a book that refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque as “the Temple Mount.” I think we should think a little larger than that.

The role of parents’ committees is central in this area. And I will tell you about our experience at the Community Action Center.

We worked for a period of time on the issue of the right to education. I tell you that these are issues of importance for parents. As colleagues mentioned regarding the role of the PA or its absence in Jerusalem, the PA is also at an impasse that it doesn’t know how to extricate itself from.

Dr. Audeh Quawas: As for us, at Mar Mitri, we restored and replaced the plastic chairs, but we have difficulty implementing important extracurricular activities. I am aware that we do not have a playground, which is one of the reasons why students are reluctant to register. We have a small playground, but I cannot expand it, do you understand? If I could use the playground of another school next to me . . . however, this cooperation between schools within the Old City walls, unfortunately—and I say this bitterly—does not exist.

Nivine Sandouka: Just a small observation that I mentioned earlier regarding the 70 percent of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem who live below the poverty line: How do you expect them to come and register their children in private schools where the annual tuition fees reach NIS 5,000, 6,000, 7,000, 6,000, and sometimes 10,000? The idea is that we need a national plan to integrate students who can’t find available spots in schools into those schools that can’t find students. And we need to find someone who can fund such a plan. But unfortunately, what is happening in our schools in Jerusalem is due to the lack of a comprehensive national vision.

Daoud Kuttab: Is there no Jerusalem education committee?

Dr. Audeh Quawas: We formed a committee for the Mar Mitri School. We held three meetings and produced recommendations for the [Greek Orthodox] Patriarch. The Patriarch implemented all the recommendations. But when we had to close the school due to a budget shortfall [in April 2023], everyone beat their chests and promised to donate. We did not receive a single shekel from them. That is right.

In response to your question, no, there is not a single education authority in Jerusalem. There are authorities. There are institutions that you know personally, and I know them, and we know those in charge of them.

Daoud Kuttab: Thank you, everyone, it was an important discussion rich in ideas and recommendations.