Education in East Jerusalem: 2025 Report
As the devastating destruction and loss of life in Gaza persists, the 2024-2025 school year brings mounting challenges for Palestinian educators and students in East Jerusalem. Over the past year, the Israeli Knesset has advanced legislation that threatens to further erode East Jerusalem’s already fragile education system—including a bill to bar the employment of teachers with degrees from West Bank universities¹, new restrictions on teachers’ freedom of expression, and laws mandating the closure of all UNRWA-operated schools.
These draconian measures come against the backdrop of the municipality’s continued failure to resolve severe, long-standing infrastructure shortages in East Jerusalem’s schools. Despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling obligating the state to present a comprehensive plan for classroom construction, an acute shortage remains unaddressed, with no plan presented.
In response to Ir Amim’s inquiries, the municipality supplied data indicating that 1,461 classrooms remain missing or substandard in East Jerusalem. The latest work plan within the framework of Government Decision 880—a 2023 government five-year plan to reduce socio-economic gaps in East Jerusalem²—includes a projected construction of 1,204 new classrooms. Yet, as of this school year, only 20 new classrooms have been added. Moreover, the Ministry of Education and the municipality have stipulated that any new school funded under the plan must be what is called an “official school”³ required to teach the Israeli curriculum.
This exploitation of the classroom shortage, combined with additional harmful legislation (as detailed below) deepens Israeli control over East Jerusalem’s education system while undermining Palestinian children’s right to study according to their own identity, heritage, and culture.
Ir Amim continues to monitor these developments closely, including the advancement of discriminatory legislation, the municipality’s neglect of its obligations, and the broader imposition of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem’s education system. As this report will demonstrate, these combined measures severely compromise the educational rights and future of Palestinian children in the city.