Occupied Jerusalem On August 29, the Arab Education Department of the occupation municipality sent a letter to the directors of the Arab Education Departments and inspectors of Jerusalem schools under the title “Adherence to the school books (Palestinian curriculum) printed by the municipality for the 2024-2025 academic year.”
The book – a copy of which was obtained by Tel Aviv Tribune Net – included a reminder that it is strictly forbidden to use school books “from any external sources”, and to adhere to the books that will be distributed by the Arab Education Department of the Israeli municipality. It was noted that “starting from the current academic year, books for the eleventh and twelfth grades (Tawjihi) will also be distributed.”
The writing concluded with the necessity of adhering to these instructions, and that the supervision will be very strict from the “Audit and Control Department at the Ministry of Education.”
The education workers in Jerusalem considered the step of distributing books by the occupation municipality to the upper grades to be a new and final step in the path of controlling education in Jerusalem, because the books distributed to Jerusalemite students in the city by the municipality are “distorted” books from which some content has either been deleted or distorted and other content has been added in its place.
The Tawjihi system was suppressed
Therefore, taking the step of distributing books through the municipality – especially to high school students this year – involves many risks, the most important of which is the lack of readiness of the Jerusalemite student to take the unified high school exams with the rest of the Palestinian governorates if some content is deleted and others are tampered with.
Jerusalemite researcher and former head of the Parents Council at Al-Iman Schools in Jerusalem, Tariq Akash, commented on the book, which was published a few days ago, saying that it is a new step towards controlling education in Jerusalem, which is considered a fateful matter for the city, its people, its identity and its Arabism, adding that “the ultimate goal is to distort the identity of Jerusalemites.”
Researcher Akash mentioned that the municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education had not previously touched on the authentic Palestinian curricula for the upper grades, and that doing so now is a disregard for the interests of the students and the state of education in the city. Through this step, Israeli officials say, “We are continuing to Judaize education in Jerusalem until the end.”
Since Akash is one of the authors of the booklet entitled “Education: The Silent War in Jerusalem.. A Comparison between Palestinian and Distorted Books for the Year 2022-2023,” Tel Aviv Tribune Net asked him whether the new step would make the Jerusalemite Tawjihi student unable or qualified enough to take the unified high school exams with the rest of the Palestinian governorates if some of the content was deleted, and he answered:
There are several parties to this issue, and I expect that if distorted books are distributed, the schools, the Palestinian Authority, and whoever sets the exam questions in the Ministry of Education will find a way to maneuver, so that questions from the subjects in which there is a difference are not included, or the deleted subjects are passed on in some way.
Where is the danger?
But the danger lies – according to this researcher – in the occupation’s determination to consolidate the distorted curricula, which is not only dangerous because it pushes Jerusalemites towards the Israeli educational path, “Bagrut” (Tawjihi), but also because the Palestinian narrative is confronted in these books in an opposite and extremist manner.
“For example, students are not taught in Israeli curricula about coexistence and love between settlers and Palestinians, but these contents are included in the curricula that are blatantly distorted. Therefore, the curricula that are imposed in Jerusalem are academically weak and confused, and are moving towards distorting the Palestinian identity that is strongly and violently present in the city,” Akash adds.
Regarding whether the recent arbitrary measure aims to push Jerusalem students towards the Israeli curriculum, Jerusalemite researcher Tariq Akash said, “Of course,” especially since the incitement against the Palestinian curriculum is declared and is taking place at the highest levels. Last Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference that “the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is putting in the educational curricula the same goal that Hamas is putting in Gaza, which is to destroy Israel.”
Akash continued his talk by saying that the presence of a picture of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, and a map of Palestine in every Gazan home is one of the things that angered the Israeli army, as talk of changing the Palestinian curricula in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem indicates that it is a strategic goal for them.
Bitter choices
Abdul Qader Al-Husseini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Faisal Al-Husseini Foundation, which is concerned with the education sector in Jerusalem, pointed out that the books have not yet been distributed to the upper grades through the municipality, and therefore “we have not seen the changes or if there are actually changes, but the matter is dangerous and has serious repercussions and must be confronted legally and in all forms.”
Al-Hussaini mentioned that the fear of tampering with the books of the upper grades emerged among some principals and teachers in the last academic year, and they warned of the spread of some news about the possibility of focusing on subjects that differ from those required for the general secondary exams.
This means, according to Al-Husseini, that Jerusalem students will no longer be eligible to take the high school exams through schools, but they may be eligible to take them through private study. This is very dangerous because a large number of Jerusalem students rely on the high school certificate, which paves the way for them to universities.
“The attack on the Palestinian curriculum and attempts to completely replace it in Jerusalem hurt us because it is one of the things that all Palestinians share inside the country and in some countries that pass on our original curriculum to the Palestinians.”
Al-Husseini concluded his talk to Tel Aviv Tribune Net by saying that if the Tawjihi system in Jerusalem is destroyed by distorting the books, the Jerusalemite student will have the option of moving to another city to take these exams or taking them virtually (online) if the exams are prevented from being held in the city. This will make it easier for the Jerusalemites to join the other education system, which is the Israeli “Bagrut.”
It is worth noting that Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantee the right of peoples under occupation to receive education that is consistent with their beliefs and to protect their culture and heritage from change or distortion.
There are many educational umbrellas in Jerusalem, including the occupation authorities, the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the private sector. Some of them began their 2024/2025 academic year last week, while the rest will resume their academic year this week.
