UNRWA in Jerusalem: Anatomy of Chaos
(קרדיט: CFNEPR)
"I am ready to carry out a suicide attack" is what a student at a UNRWA school in East Jerusalem says to the camera, in a video filmed in 2022 by the Bedein Center for Near East Policy Research. Another student says that "we have to fight the Jews to prove that we are stronger than them." Watch the inciteful words of the students.
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The students are recorded saying that "stabbing and trampling Jews brings respect to the Palestinians," "I am ready to carry out a suicide attack," and "we are taught that the Jews kill our children. I will stab and run over them." One of the students says that "we are taught that Al-Aqsa and all of Palestine is ours," and another shares that "we are taught that the Jews are terrorists."
David Bedein, director of the research institute that has been dealing with UNRWA and the Palestinians since 1987, notes: "In the textbooks of UNRWA students in the Shuafat refugee camp, there are pictures praising murderers who committed terrorist acts and killed many Israelis used as role models."
Following publication of the video, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem and the chairman of the United party, Aryeh King, contacted the chairman of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), Ifat Ovadia-Luski. The UNRWA school in question was established on land owned by JNF, and King demanded that the school be vacated. In an appeal to Luski, he wrote that the expectation was that the area would be used for the benefit of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, but in reality the UNRWA school was established "where, according to the evidence, they teach hatred of Jews and incite against the State of Israel."
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UNRWA truck near Egyptian Rafah crossing
(Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo)
JNF stated in response that "in accordance with the Israel Land Authority law and in accordance with the agreement between the state and the JNF, the Israel Land Authority manages JNF lands. Any information regarding the owners and/or encroachers of the land and how their treatment should be addressed to the Israel Land Authority."
About 119,000 students study in the Arab education system in East Jerusalem: 45,040 in official educational institutions, 58,080 in unofficial, recognized institutions and 15,380 students in institutions that operate without a license, which are not funded or supervised by the state (about 13% of East Jerusalem students).
On Tuesday, the Knesset held a joint discussion with the Education Committee and the Committee of Children's Rights to mark the International Day of Education, in which the lawmakers spoke about antisemitic content taught in the Palestinian education system. It was decided that there would be strict supervision in educational institutions in East Jerusalem.
"It's crazy that the 11th and 12th grades are given textbooks with antisemitic content and incitement against the state," he said. The members of the committees called for the removal of antisemitic content from Palestinian education plans and sharply criticized the United Nations and UNESCO "for not doing anything against the Palestinian education industry that teaches jihad, the demonization of Jews and Israelis, and delegitimization of the State of Israel."
On Friday and Saturday, UNRWA faced an uproar when nine contributing countries decided to freeze funding that was intended for the organization despite the commissioner-general's announcement of an investigation into the allegations that some of the agency's employees were involved in the murderous terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, and of the termination of employment of some of those employees.
The Education Ministry released a statement regarding the issue. "The school operates without a license, in violation of the law. The enforcement division of the ministry has begun investigating the matter, and intends to involve investigative bodies and other authorities if necessary. The ministry is working to strengthen the supervision of the education system in East Jerusalem, to reduce the number of students in recognized unofficial settings and to increase the number of students in formal education, according to the Israeli curriculum. In light of this policy, the proportion of students in schools that operate without a license in East Jerusalem has decreased from 58% in 1990 to only 13% at the end of 2022," according to the ministry.