Hundreds demand integrated, bilingual education in Jaffa

Parents say that the city is not offering a satisfactory option for bilingual and integrated education of Jewish and Arab children in the mixed city.

Jewish and Arab children at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Jewish and Arab children at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Hundreds of Jewish and Arab parents and children from Jaffa protested in central Tel Aviv Friday morning to demand that the city provide them with an option to study in an integrated, bilingual school that treats both languages, cultures and the three monotheistic religions equally.

The parents claim that the arrangement being offered to them by the city is not actually equal and does not satisfy their needs.

There are only seven integrated, bilingual schools in all of Israel.

The protest, which took place in the main square outside Israel’s national theater, “Habima,” included activities for children, dance and musical performances, and speeches from local Jaffa activists.

Children and parents at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Children and parents at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Watch the following video from Social TV for more on the story:

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation