Israel pushes its curriculum in Palestinian schools

JERUSALEM: Young Palestinian Faris Abu- Mayyaleh will soon find out how he did in his final high school exams, in which he answered questions about Israel’s founding fathers and the history of Zionism.

Faris, 18, chose to study the Israeli curriculum instead of the Palestinian equivalent in the hope that it will open more doors at colleges in Israel and help him get work there.

“I know it’s the ‘ Occupation’. But Palestine, Israel – I don’t care. I just want to go to university,” said Abu- Mayyaleh, who lives and studies in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war.

Israel hopes many other Palestinians will share his attitude after offering additional funding to Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem if they agree to teach the Israeli curriculum.

The aim, it says, is to help young Palestinians gain the qualifications they need to find work in Israel more easily. It also offers Israel a chance to steer some Palestinians away from a curriculum it says is rife with anti- Semitism and incitement.

It is a loaded issue for principals, parents and pupils. Many Palestinian schools badly need funding, but embracing the Israeli education programme – including subjects such as Israeli civics and history – is seen by many Palestinians as tantamount to adopting the historical narrative of the enemy.

Only 10 of the city’s public Palestinian schools have so far agreed to the change on offer since last year, and only about 5,000 of the 110,00 Palestinian pupils of East Jerusalem’s 185 public and private establishments study the Israeli programme.

“It’s not easy,” said a Palestinian member of staff who teaches Israeli civics at a Palestinian school.

“The children want to learn about their own people. I teach a lot of things I don’t believe in, but I have no choice.” — Reuters