This week, a special tour group of Knesset members is expected to visit various schools in east Jerusalem as part of the work of the ‘Subcommittee for Curricula in east Jerusalem and Their Supervision’ headed by MK Avichai Boaron of Likud. Due to security and political sensitivities, only subcommittee members will be allowed to participate in the visit under heavy security.
During the visit, Knesset members will be able to discuss and meet face-to-face with relevant factors in the education system, learn about existing challenges and opportunities, and examine ways to improve and enhance learning and teaching processes to meet the government’s targets for transitioning students from Palestinian to Israeli curricula.
MK Boaron emphasized that the visit is intended to allow Knesset members to get a firsthand impression of what’s happening in East Jerusalem schools and to formulate an up-to-date and accurate picture that will serve as a basis for promoting wise and effective policy in the field of education in the eastern part of the city.
Boaron added, “The subcommittee under my leadership is committed to working to improve the quality of education in East Jerusalem, while ensuring quality curricula adapted to the needs of the students. We believe that education is the key to integration and advancement of society in the eastern part of the city, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that every student gets the opportunity to realize their potential.”
In a discussion held a few days ago in the Education Committee’s subcommittee, the data behind the government’s decision regarding education in East Jerusalem was revealed, budgeted at one billion NIS, and far from meeting its goals.
The committee’s findings
The committee also revealed that 6000 out of 6700 teachers were trained in the Palestinian Authority, and 85 percent of schools (over 90,000 out of 110,000 students) still study the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum.
The data also showed that close to 200 million NIS from the amount allocated for this matter in the government’s decision were invested in the program. Still, only 2000 students have transitioned in the last two years from the Palestinian program to the Israeli program. In fact, the State of Israel invests one million NIS to transition a student in East Jerusalem from the Palestinian program to the Israeli one.
In the discussion ahead of the special tour, Boaron said, “This committee was established to deal with a problem that is nothing less than a powder keg placed in the heart of Jerusalem, the capital city of the State of Israel. Before we go to ‘de-Nazify’ the students of the Gaza Strip, we must examine the learning content here in Jerusalem. After many years under the minister’s leadership, incitement content was removed from the learning materials. In parallel, about a year and a half ago, the minister led a government decision to replace the Palestinian curriculum with an Israeli curriculum. This decision is good and important. However, this decision did not bring about the desired change – east Jerusalem residents are not interested in adopting the Israeli curriculum, and the teachers themselves are not willing to teach the program.”
“My colleagues and I will do everything to change this delusional reality. This intolerable situation cannot continue.” He continued.
“The latest government decision on this issue speaks of slow and gradual treatment of the problem before us, but this is a big mistake. The treatment of this problem must be sharp and quick. In the coming months, if the situation does not change significantly for the better, I will turn to the Prime Minister and recommend canceling the government’s decision on the matter and making a completely different decision. We need to deal with the complex problems existing in the current education of east Jerusalem students in a much more stubborn and severe manner than what is happening today. The committee’s discussions help us understand the scope of the problem and its severity and decide on the best tools to deal with its correction.”
Following that discussion, MK Boaron sent a letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education, and other officials to share the data and conclusions and even proposed an innovative idea to examine cooperation with Arab countries and connect them to the education system in east Jerusalem.
“Education in east Jerusalem is a national event, no less.” MK Boaron concluded, “And that’s how it should be treated, with seriousness and gravity. For decades we have allowed this bomb to grow quietly and without interference, with God’s help we intend to study the issue in depth, and lead significant processes in the matter together with all the factors, the existing situation must change.”