Adnan Al-Husseini, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of its Jerusalem Affairs Department, said that what is happening in the schools of occupied East Jerusalem, in terms of imposing the Israeli educational curriculum on Palestinian schools, represents “an attack on education in Jerusalem, and an attempt to change the features of the Palestinian curriculum, manipulate it, and change the terminology,” and is part of denying the existence of the Palestinian people.
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He added, that this issue has been ongoing for years, and that the occupation authorities are exercising measures and pressure on schools to push them to comply with these changes.
Al-Husseini’s statement comes after the revealed that new classes in official schools in East Jerusalem will begin, for the first time since 1967, to study according to the Israeli curriculum, after having relied on the Jordanian curriculum, and then the Palestinian curriculum after the signing of the Oslo Accords.
According to the newspaper, the number of Jerusalemite students studying according to Israeli programs will reach about 45,000 out of 120,000 students, or about 38%.
From changing the curriculum to imposing it
Al-Husseini said “We now see that the issue has become the imposition of the Israeli curriculum. In the past, there were changes to the Palestinian curriculum according to their wishes, and of course the Palestinians did not agree to them, because they do not suit the image and individualism that they are trying to teach.”
He added “Now the issue has become an imposition. The Israeli regime imposed this regime, and this means that things have changed. It is a process of containing the Palestinian regime.”
He continued: “We have a large number of students in Jerusalem, and these students have been learning the Palestinian curriculum for some time and will continue to do so until they graduate and so on. The issue is a futile process, and the Palestinians do not accept it.”
He said that Palestinians, like all peoples of the world, want their educational curricula to be in the hands of their own experts, adding: “Palestinians, like the rest of the world, want their curriculum to be arranged by experts who care about the interests of their students. They are not prepared to wait for someone to arrange their children’s education for them.”
Al-Husseini compared Palestinian education with Jewish education around the world, saying, “In the whole world, their schools are private and no one interferes with them. So why should the Israelis interfere here?”
Al-Husseini stressed that this intervention “is not legally correct, and nothing permits it, neither international law nor anything else.”
Al-Husseini complained about the pressure exerted by the occupation on the people of Jerusalem, and called on “the world to take action to stop this pressure.”
He said “Education is a personal freedom for people to choose how they want to learn.”
Agreements with the Palestinians
Regarding the extent to which these measures conflict with the commitments that Israel signed with the Palestinians, Al-Husseini said “Absolutely. Israel has not signed any commitment with the Palestinians and has adhered to it.”
He added “Regarding the land issue and what is happening on the ground now, I have not committed to anything. On the contrary, I have implemented everything, changed it, and done the opposite of it.”
He explained that Israel had not respected any of its commitments, as the agreements in the early nineties were based on a completely different vision.
He said “There was an agreement that charted a course towards building peace after four or five years, establishing a Palestinian state, living in peace, a Middle East at peace, everyone working, and development in this region.”
He added “That was the idea back then, in the early nineties. What happened is that everything changed.”
He said “The issue has become a matter of myths and new strategies carried by the extreme Israeli right, which does not see that there is a Palestinian people, and therefore does not look at a peace process.”
Targeting UNRWA and the right of return
Regarding the connection between the attack on educational institutions affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied Jerusalem and the imposition of the Israeli curriculum, Al-Husseini said: “Absolutely. UNRWA is a feature of the right of return.”
He added “Those who are learning at UNRWA, the agency has been teaching them since its inception because they were displaced from their homes. They want to return to their homes, and they have rights.”
He said “We have become unable to maintain our rights in the homes we are in now, and we are being attacked in the homes we left previously.”
In his opinion, the issue is related to the attempt to end the right of return issue. The issue is clear, and it is about ending the right of return issue.”
Al-Husseini linked this to what is happening in the rest of the Palestinian territories, saying: “As for the land of Palestine, in the West Bank and even in Gaza, it is a process of eliminating the idea of a Palestinian state.”
He stressed that this goal will not be achieved, adding “This is a dream that no one can reach, because this people is on its land and will remain on its land.”
He continued “This people has waited a long time and given a lot, and in the end we are convinced that this patience must lead to what is required, legally, customarily and justly.”
that new classes in official schools in East Jerusalem will begin studying according to the Israeli curriculum for the first time since 1967, after having previously adopted the Jordanian and then the Palestinian curriculum.
She noted the increasing pressure from the Ministry of Education and the occupation municipality on schools to open Israeli tracks, while the majority of students continue to study the Palestinian curriculum.
Palestinian officials believe this policy goes beyond education to an attempt to influence Palestinian identity and historical narrative in occupied Jerusalem.
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