150 children at home after Hamas-linked East Jerusalem school shut

Nearly a week after a school in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher that was said to be operated by Hamas was shut down by authorities, some 150 former students have yet to find other schools.

Authorities said last week that the Al-Nukhaba elementary school was established by Hamas with the aim of teaching “content that undermines the sovereignty of Israel” and was therefore closed.

According to an Israel Radio report Wednesday, parents blamed the Jerusalem Municipality for the children staying home, saying that the city had not found the children alternative education facilitates.

However, the municipality told the radio station that the parents of the students have refused to cooperate with the city in attempts find a solution, and said it was working in the meantime to ensure no damage was done to the children’s education.

The municipality said the delay stemmed partly from the fact that the school was a private institution, as the students need to be registered in the city’s educational system before they can begin attending public schools.

It also said that the city remained prepared to enroll the children at schools elsewhere in the city, to which it will provide transportation.

The order to close Al-Nukhaba followed a months-long joint probe by the Education Ministry, Jerusalem Police and the Shin Bet security service into the elementary school’s activities, according to an Education Ministry statement.

Its aims were consistent with the ideology of the terror organization, which calls for the destruction of Israel, according to the Education Ministry.

“Each case of incitement will be dealt with and will continue to be dealt with, with maximum severity,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett said. “Schools in East Jerusalem that elect to follow the [Israeli] curriculum get the full set of tools to succeed, while those choosing incitement will be closed.”

Jews and Palestinians study in separate school systems in Jerusalem. The Palestinian schools are run by either the city council or private bodies.

The Education Ministry ordered the school not to open in September and when it continued to operate, issued the closure order.

The school’s administration had sued to have the decision overturned, but the case was rejected by the Jerusalem District Court and upheld by the Supreme Court, which cited the school’s failure to obtain a license as one of its reasons for siding with the ministry.

East Jerusalem Palestinians regularly say the city discriminates against them in disbursing funds and municipal services.

According to daily newspaper Haaretz, East Jerusalem Palestinian schools received less than half the funds that the Jerusalem Municipality transferred to West Jerusalem Jewish schools in 2016.

The municipality said the paper’s figures were wrong.

Sue Surkes contributed to this report.