Abdulrahman Y Mahani

The Israeli occupation has never stopped its attempts by all means possible to impose its domination over education in Al-Quds and to Judaize it. It is trying to omit the Palestinian memory and history and to obliterate the national identity by distorting the Palestinian curriculum in order to replace it with the “Israeli” one, as it is considered as an essential pillar in building the society and raising a generation aware of its cause

Old Attempts

This is what the spokesmen of the Teachers’ Union in Al-Quds, Ahmed Al-Safadi, indicated in an exclusive speech to PALM Strategic Initiative Center, as he said: “these attempts carried out by the occupation are not new. As since 1967, it has wanted to impose the Israeli curriculum in the schools of the occupied Al-Quds, but it failed because of the valor of Palestinian teachers at that time in defending the Palestinian curriculum.”

With the approaching of the start of the new school year in Al-Quds, the Israeli Education Ministry threatened to close some schools, withdraw their licenses, and force their principals to sign a petition obligating them not to teach the Palestinian curriculum and rather impose the Israeli one. Therefore, an all-out strike in started in Al-Quds schools, called by the National Forces and the Ministry of Education, rejecting this. Al-Safadi said that Palestinian curriculum books were distributed to confirm the rejection of the Israeli curriculum, praising the wide response of Jerusalemites and parents to this strike.

  Judaizing the Area

The Israeli occupation tries to take control over Al-Quds by imposing a fait accompli policy, and changing the geography and history through targeting tourist, religious and cultural sectors. This was stressed by the head of The Jerusalem Authority against Judaization, Nasser Al-Hadmi, in an exclusive speech to PALM Strategic Initiative Center, saying: “the Israeli occupation wants to get rid of this obstacle -the Palestinian curriculum- because it talks about the Palestinian facts, the importance of Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, and how to get rid of the occupation and preserve the constants and the issue of prisoners”.

Al-Hadmi added “the occupation for many years ago has been trying to impose its curriculum to obliterate the identity of the Palestinian people but it failed because of the protests that the people made against it. Although, it is continuing in its steps to impose its narrative on the educational institutions, and spends a lot of money and possibilities to pass it through, as it launched a strategic plan in 2018 for 2023 funded with a value of 400 million Shekel to impose the Israeli education system." This was considered by Al-Hadmi as a main element in the Judaizing process.

The occupation attempted in 2011 to pounce over the Palestinian curriculum by bargaining over a curriculum change in the Jerusalemite private and civil schools in return for their financial funding. It opened 32 schools of art, music and technology to attract the biggest number of Palestinian students and distract them from the Palestinian national schools.

It is noteworthy that there are 54 endowment schools in Al-Quds and more than 98,000 students, half of whom belong to Palestinian schools, but a large number of them belong to occupation schools.

Nature of the Israeli Curriculum 

The appearance of the Israeli curriculum seems to be identical to the Palestinian curriculum, but in fact it is a distorted curriculum that has been distorted and removed from all national and societal values, and the insertion of false ideas, opinions and terms. Ahmed Al-Safadi has warned of the danger of this change because it erases the awareness of the people and erases the identity from their memory.

Al-Safadi also pointed out that the occupation applies its curriculum on schools gradually by opening one classroom in each school, especially in the primary stage, then to be transferred to the rest of educational stages. He adde d that the Israeli curriculum is now being applied fully in some of Al-Quds schools, which is a very dangerous matter, portends a catastrophe, and will lead to further escalation through building a strategy of confrontation in which all Al-Quds institutions and schools participate in.

Meanwhile, Nasser Al-Hadmi called on Arab and Islamic countries to stand against the occupation's plans to change and distort identity, and to defend Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa by spreading the just Palestinian narrative around the world.

The curriculum change comes in parallel with other violations against the education sector in Al-Quds, represented in the raids of Palestinian schools, closing them, attacking students and teachers, and arresting several directors of education and youth in separate areas of occupied Al-Quds.