East Jerusalem Schools Launch Open-Ended Strike Amid Curriculum Impositions and Teacher Permit Bans

The academic year in occupied East Jerusalem began with an open-ended strike by teachers at private and Christian schools following Israeli curriculum interventions. All new first and seventh-grade classes at East Jerusalem’s Palestinian-majority municipal schools were instructed to exclusively use the Israeli curriculum this year, while entry permits for West Bank teachers were blocked, as reported by Haaretz.

This shift means that one-in-three Palestinian students in occupied East Jerusalem—totaling more than 45,000—will be enrolled in the Israeli educational programme, marking a nearly fourfold increase over six years. Jerusalem Governorate spokesman Marouf al-Rifai condemned the forced integration as a cultural and educational crime, stating it serves as a defense of memory, identity, history, and the national narrative.

Furthermore, Israeli forces recently seized educational compounds previously operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in the Shu’fat refugee camp and Kafr Aqab, intending to replace them with Israeli-administered facilities. Hamas official Haroun Nasser el-Din noted that the school, the book, and awareness remain fundamental pillars in the battle of Jerusalem.

East Jerusalem and the West Bank have been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Sylvia Amer, deputy director for academic and administrative affairs at College des Freres Jerusalem, explained that the abrupt denial of more than 70 permits for teachers and employees from the West Bank just 10 days before the school year forced the suspension of classes.

Additional pressure stems from Knesset legislation passed earlier this year prohibiting the employment of teachers holding academic degrees from Palestinian Authority institutions. Mike Bassam Farraj, general director of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Schools, stated that these permit denials and legislative hurdles form a systematic pressure campaign aimed at reducing West Bank educators while utilizing budgetary allocations to encourage the adoption of the Israeli Bagrut curriculum.