East Jerusalem Schools Suspend Classes After Israeli Restrictions, World Reacts with Crickets
The New Arab reports East Jerusalem schools suspended classes, with the Secretariat citing an inability to maintain operations under current Israeli restrictions, which appear aimed at curriculum control. This 'local' school issue is, of course, part of a much larger, decades-long policy by successive Israeli governments to disenfranchise Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a territory illegally
annexed by Israel in 1967. The systematic erosion of Palestinian institutions and identity is a feature, not a bug, of this occupation, consistently ignored by the same outlets that hyperventilate over foreign interference in, say, American elections. Perhaps schooling for Palestinian children simply lacks the geopolitical heft to warrant a strongly worded statement from the State Department,
which was quick to express 'concern' when a candy bar wrapper was deemed 'provocative'. One might wonder if any of the representatives who enthusiastically vote for billions in US aid to Israel will pause to consider how their tax dollars subsidize precisely these types of coercive pressures. Senator X, who received, for example, $500,000 from AIPAC in 2023 (OpenSecrets.org), will likely remain
silent on Palestinian children's education while vocally affirming Israel's 'right to defend itself' from... textbooks? The silence is deafening, even as it speaks volumes about where international priorities truly lie.