Palestinian parents protest Israeli attempts to impose 'distorted' textbooks in east Jerusalem schools

Palestinian parents and students on Saturday held demonstrations in several neighbourhoods of occupied east Jerusalem in protest against Israeli attempts at preventing schools from teaching Palestinian textbooks.

Parents held several held banners that read "Together for Protecting the Identity of Our Students" outside Al-Iman schools in Beit Hanina in the occupied city, in a bid to express their rejection of the Israeli curriculum.

Israeli authorities want to impose Israeli-amended textbooks in the occupied city according to the parents, reported the Palestinian Wafa agency.

تغطية صحفية: " أولياء طلبة مدارس الإيمان بالقدس ينظمون وقفة احتجاجية رفضاً للمنهاج المحرف الذي يحاول الاحتلال فرضه في المدارس المقدسية " pic.twitter.com/mAXJajF8RG

— AlQastal القسطل (@AlQastalps) September 17, 2022

The protesting parents also shouted slogans such as "no to the distorted curriculum" and "no to Israeli-sing education", as well as "we reject the curriculum of the Israeli Ministry of Education," reported Wafa.

Tariq Akash, one of the parents of the students of Al-Iman schools, said: "The people of Jerusalem gathered here to say a clear word: We are the parents of the Jerusalemite students and the parents of the next generation who will carry the bond and defend this city. We will not allow the minds of our children to be domesticated".

"We say that we will not allow the families of Jerusalemite children to be captured, and we will not allow anyone to forget that they are Palestinian Arab Muslims who carry the banner of ribat and defend the sanctities of this nation," he added, according to the news website Arabi21.

Other parents believe that "the curriculum Israeli authorities are trying to impose omits the Nakba and avoids mentioning occupation, racism and persecution".

The parents also decried Israel’s neglect of Palestinian schools in east Jerusalem, including a failure to accommodate the number of growing students.

Demonstrations were also held in Silwan, Jabal al-Mukabber, Ras al-Amoud, and other schools around the occupied city.

Earlier this month, the Parents Committee, a body representing parents of Palestinian schoolchildren in east Jerusalem, said the Israeli authorities printed new textbooks similar to the ones provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Education but with alterations and omission of many facts, such as the Palestinian flag, national symbols and historical facts.

In August this year, Israeli authorities revoked a number of Palestinian schools' operating licenses for what they claim "glorifying" resistance against Israeli occupation.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs decried the claim, accusing the move of being a part of a project with the aim of erasing Palestinian identity from Jerusalem.