Israel: Campaigners protest against government clampdown on Christian schools

Christian schools in Israel may be forced to close soon - due to new government regulations and severe cuts in funding. An unprecedented demonstration was held in Jerusalem on 27 May, opposite the Ministry of Education, to protest against what they described as the 'discriminatory policy of the Ministry of Education towards Christian schools' . Church leaders as well as parents of students from local Christian schools took part.

Teachers' salaries, set centrally by the government, have risen sharply, while Israeli government funding, which only partially meets the schools' costs, has been severely cut. The only way the schools can survive is by increasing fees paid by parents - which they have been reluctant to do given their historic commitment to serving the poor and the much lower income levels of Palestinian Arab families in Israel compared to Jewish families.

But now this last resort solution has been stopped, as the Israeli government has imposed limits on the level of fees which Christian schools can charge parents.

While private Jewish schools can charge up to 20,000 shekels (around £3,400) a year, the cap proposed for Christian schools is just 2,500 shekels, a little over £400. This 'stick' was combined with the 'carrot' of the promise of increased state support for the schools, but only if they renounced their 'recognised but unofficial' status and came more fully under the auspices of the Israeli government. This would not only undermine the Christian distinctiveness of the schools but also bring other forms of unwelcome intervention, for example state control over church-owned premises, the appointment of school principals by the government and the vetting of teachers by the Israeli Security Agency, the Shin Bet. For many of the Christian schools in East Jerusalem, who rely heavily on staff coming through the checkpoints from the West Bank, this last requirement could have severe consequences.

To many Palestinian Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem, the moves by the Israeli government are seen as being politically-motivated, designed to exercise greater control over church-run schools who have traditionally been fiercely proud of their independence.

There is also anger at what is perceived as double-standards, since the parallel Haredi Jewish Orthodox school system, educating some 200,000 children and also with many schools run on a 'recognised but official' basis, receives almost 100% funding from the government. This despite the fact that many Haredi schools, unlike the Christian ones, decline to teach core curriculum subjects such as maths and science, focusing instead on religious studies. But their funding has been guaranteed because of the strong influence wielded by ultra-Orthodox political parties in Israel's fragmented political system.

The website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem state: "School owners from all over the world (Vatican, Germany, England, France, Scotland, USA and elsewhere) are well aware of this crisis and observe it with growing concern.

"The demonstrators purpose was to ask the Ministry of Education to fund thoroughly Christian schools, on equal footing with other school networks, in order to alleviate the burden weighing heavy on parents shoulders, and to put an end to the necessity to pay tuition fees."

There are about 50 church-run schools in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, elementary and secondary, providing an excellent education for some 33,000 students, split roughly equally between Muslims and Christians. Many of the schools have a long and distinguished history and pre-date the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Links:

Embrace the Middle East provides bursaries for disadvantaged children at 16 Christian schools in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. For more information see: www.embraceme.org/blog/crisis-confronting-christian-schools-israel#sthash.X1LyNuu7.dpuf

See also: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem http://en.lpj.org/2015/05/26/unprecedented-christian-schools-demonstration-in-jerusalem/