Israeli school laws face legal fight over East Jerusalem classrooms
Adalah is challenging Israeli measures it says restrict Palestinian teachers, funding and UNRWA-linked schools in East Jerusalem.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Israeli laws and enforcement actions are increasing pressure on Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, according to Salam Irsheid, writing for Al Jazeera. She cited a far-right lawmaker’s visit to a Palestinian school and a series of Knesset measures that affect teachers, school funding and UNRWA-linked education.
Irsheid said Zvi Sukkot, chairman of the Knesset Education Committee and a member of the Religious Zionist Party, arrived at a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem on Tuesday for what she described as his second surprise visit in two weeks. According to Irsheid, Sukkot broke the school’s entrance sign because it showed a Palestinian flag and publicly promised to close the school.
Irsheid argued that the incident reflected a broader state campaign against Palestinian education in occupied and annexed East Jerusalem. She said Sukkot has used his committee post to police Palestinian schools while lawmakers have advanced legislation targeting the same system.
Teacher restrictions and speech rules
One law passed in January 2026 bars graduates of Palestinian universities in the West Bank from teaching in Israel and East Jerusalem, Irsheid said. She wrote that supporters of the measure claimed graduates of those universities were dangerous and unfit to teach.
During Knesset discussions, Irsheid said, several lawmakers framed the measure as part of an effort to promote “Israelisation” in schools. She cited a May 2025 Education Committee session in which a Likud lawmaker said the law was needed because teachers trained at Palestinian universities “do not cultivate Israelisation” among students.
Irsheid said Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem rely heavily on graduates of West Bank universities, most of them women. She also said the system already faces shortages of teachers and classrooms.
A second measure, passed in November 2024 and widely referred to by critics as the “Silencing Law,” gives Israel’s Ministry of Education authority to suspend or dismiss teachers through a fast-track administrative process, according to Irsheid. She said it applies to speech the ministry considers “incitement to terrorism” under Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Law.
The same law also lets the ministry withdraw funding from schools on those grounds, which could lead to closures, Irsheid said. She cited an early 2024 Education Committee discussion in which a Likud lawmaker said East Jerusalem Palestinians should become Zionists.
UNRWA-linked schools and court petitions
Irsheid said Sukkot’s threat to close the school followed the closure of six schools in East Jerusalem and nearby areas in 2025. Those closures, which she linked to Knesset laws targeting UNRWA, left 800 Palestinian children without formal schooling, she said.
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, is challenging the measures before the Israeli Supreme Court, according to Irsheid. She said pending petitions address the ban on Palestinian university graduates, the 2024 teacher-speech law and the anti-UNRWA laws.
Irsheid wrote that Adalah will continue legal action against the measures. She argued that outside pressure on Israel is needed to stop violations of the rights of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including the right to education and dignity.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.