Protests against imposing Israeli curriculum at Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem

Families of Palestinian students at Al Iman schools in occupied Jerusalem organised a protest on Sunday against Israel’s imposition of its curriculum on Palestinian schools.

The families said during the protest that the Israeli occupation distorts Palestinian textbooks. “It erases the Palestinian identity from the Palestinian curriculum,” the families said.

At the same time, they raised placards during the protest which was organised in front of Israeli municipality of Beit Hanina, reading: “We reject Israeli textbooks.”

On 28 July, Israeli Minister of Education Yifat Shasha-Biton revoked the permanent operating licenses of the six Al Iman schools in East Jerusalem under the pretext that their curricula contain “dangerous incitement” against the Israeli government and army.

The six schools, the Israeli Minister said, would be granted a conditional one-year license to amend their curriculum or lose their license entirely.

READ: 6,400 Palestinian students’ education at risk due to Israel demolition orders

Israeli municipality in Jerusalem reprint Palestinian textbooks after deleting everything related to the Palestinian identity, including the Nakba, prisoners, Israeli aggression and any hint that East Jerusalem is the capital of the future Palestinian state.

Tareq Okosh, father of one of the Palestinian students, told the protesters: “Jerusalem’s families gathered here to send a clear message: We are the families of the generation of the future which is to defend this city. We do not accept domestication of our children’s minds.”

He added: “We do not allow keeping the identity of our children captive at the hands of the Israeli occupation. We will not allow anyone to make them forget that they are Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims who hold the flag of defending the holy sites in this city.”

Concluding his speech, he said: “Man is an identity. If he lost his identity, he has lost everything,” pointing out that the occupation starts with the curriculum and moves gradually to everything else.

Israel demolishing Palestinian schools – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]