What is Not a Stranger by the Palestinian Vision Organization?

“Not a Stranger” is a youth initiative that was executed by the Palestinian Vision Organization.^[1]The initiative came about as part of a wider program funded and supported by Denmark Church Aid (DCA) and the European Union in which Palestinians in Jerusalem are empowered to defend their political, social and economic rights as guaranteed by the International Humanitarian Law.

What is the Purpose of Not a Stranger by the Palestinian Vision Organization?

The initiative aims at educating both tourists and inhabitants of Jerusalem about the history of the city while raising public awareness about historical and influential figures of Jerusalem. The initiative also aims at reinstating the Palestinian Jerusalemite culture and identity, both of which have been long fought by the Israeli policies that deny the Arab character of the city.

About the Initiative:

The initiative is centered around a group of young adult Palestinians who dress up as important historical figures from Jerusalem. The young adults then reenact historical occurrences throughout the city from the Roman, Byzantium, Umayyad, Mamluk, Ottoman, and modern eras of Jerusalemite history. The young adults interact with individuals in different locations of the Old City, such as the Sadeiah neighborhood, the Sultan Tekieh, the Orphanage School, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Hebron Gate and, finally, the Damascus Gate. Audience members watched the reenactments and even took pictures with the group.

Jerusalem has been a center for religious education due to the religious status it holds. Successive Islamic eras, starting with the early Umayyad and ending with the late Ottoman, established educational institutions in Jerusalem. In the late Middle Ages, religious schools in Jerusalem and in other Islamic capitals and central provinces, adopted the positions of mosques and played a key role in shaping the cultural and scientific component therein.^[1]

Jerusalem once had 50 religious schools that offered higher education in different subjects. ^[2] Al-Aqsa Plaza has fifteen religious schools on its own, most of which were established during the Ayubid and Mamluk eras.^[3] One of the most famous religious schools in Jerusalem is the Salahi School (Al-Salaheiah). This school was established in 1187 after Saladin liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders and existed as a school up until 1917, when the United Kingdom put Palestine under the mandate.^[4] Many schools were either destroyed or changed function, while few others remain open to this very day. This article addresses the history, evolution and functions of such schools.

History and Evolution

Many of the religious schools Jerusalem had or still has were established by Sultans, religious figures and scientists. Such schools were not limited to men, as they were open to women as well, and individuals were able to acquire their education at these institutions. Women were not only educated at the schools; they also helped establish them. A number of the most famous schools in Jerusalem were actually built by rich women, such as the Ottoman School which was built by Asfahan Shah Khatoon and the Khatoni School which was built by Anml Khatoon, daughter of Shams Al-Din Al-Baghdadi.^[5]

At the beginning, religious schools were dedicated to teaching Islamic Studies, such as the Quran, Hadith, and Islamic jurisprudence.^{[6] Later on, however, religious schools started teaching many other specializations, especially in the field of science, introducing classes such as math, space and medicine. [7]} Scientists and thinkers from all over the Islamic world came to teach or to get higher education in those schools, and many books were written on religion, geography, history and science.^[8]

At the time of the Mamluks, a radical change happened to the religious schools system in Jerusalem. Not only did the number of religious schools in existence increase rapidly, they became more sophisticated, modern and well organized. Mamluk sultans and princes built many religious schools and endowed them lands, baths, markets, and buildings to serve and provide for students and residents.^[9]

In addition to this, Mamluks imposed complex administrative regulations on schools in terms of expenses, hiring requirements, staff training and functions, rights and responsibilities of faculty, graduation requirements, and courses taught in the schools.^[10]

Sufi Religious Schools

Different sects established their own religious schools. More particularly, Sufis had, and still have, a number of distinctive religious schools in Jerusalem where Sufism is being taught.^[11] Sufis indeed had the most diverse religious schools in Jerusalem. A Nook (Zaweiah) is one type of Sufi school that was revived at the time of Mamluks. The most famous nook schools are Al-Qadreiah, Al-Majeedeiah, and the Indian Nooks in the Old City of Jerusalem.^[12]

Sufis also had another type of religious schools in Jerusalem; the Ribat Schools. Such schools were used to educate Sufis and host visitors, poor people and non-residents of Jerusalem. The most famous Ribat schools in Jerusalem were Al-Basiri, Al-Mansouri, and the Kurdish, all of which were turned into residential homes for Arab families in the city. One Ribat school, Bayram Shawish, was turned into the Islamic orphanage in Jerusalem.^[13]

Lastly, Sufis had a type of religious schools called Khanqah in Persian or Takeiah in Turkish. This type of school was revived under Ottoman rule. The most famous of is the Daoudria School.^[14] 

Current Status

Religious schools in Jerusalem are not a mere historical mark, rather they are a distinctive cultural one. Many modern religious schools have been established recently in Jerusalem, while other more ancient and historical ones were turned into residential homes for Jerusalemite families.^[15] Many of the historical schools were also turned into religious institutions and centers for Islamic Endowment Department. Some of the schools were destroyed over the years, however, some of the schools that are still in operation in Jerusalem such as the Omari, Al-Qadesiah, Al-Tenkiziah, Al-Afdaleiah, and Al-Fakhreiah Schools.^[16]

Pictures:

1. Al-Isa’ardi School in Jerusalem at https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/citiesandregions/2016/3/8/مدارس-المسجد-الأقصى
2. Salahi School at https://www.turkpress.co/node/11953

Since the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli state has taken many measures to erase the Arab and Palestinian history of the city in favor of an Israeli narrative. Such measures include changing curriculums to reinforce that narrative as well as a prohibition on the construction of new Arab schools. These changes have lead to the dropping out of about 10% of Arab students in the city.^[1]

Problems suffered in the Jerusalemite educational system

The Education sector is Jerusalem suffers from several problems–not all of them explicitly political including^[2]

• complexity of granting building licenses for new schools
• Inadequacy of infrastructure
• Intervention in the curriculum and the elimination of lessons or texts that discuss Palestinian identity, patriotism, and “the right of return”
• trial to replace the Palestinian curriculum with an Israeli one
• Prevent the entry of books from the West Bank to Jerusalem
• Target Arabic systematically: this was particularly proved by the Israeli purposeful distortion of the Arabic language in the curricula of the first and second grades in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1948 by including grammatical, morphological, linguistic, phonetic and lexical errors.^[3]
• Complicating the educational and administrative process by installing multiple supervisors
• Wage discrimination in favor of Israeli teachers at the expense of Palestinian ones.
• The refusal to recognize or credit Palestinian and Arab colleges and universities prevents many candidates with backgrounds in higher education from being hired from many jobs. .
• pushing many students to leave school in order to contribute to their family’s income According to a UN study issued in 2013, 82% of Jerusalem’s children live in families whose incomes exist below the poverty line.

Types of schools and their administrative subordination in Jerusalem:

One of the main problems that the educational system in Jerusalem is suffering from is the multiple supervisory parties in Jerusalem schools. Below are the different types of schools in Jerusalem and their administrative affiliations: ^[4]

• Endowment schools: administratively affiliated with the Palestinian Authority and operate under the umbrella of the Jordanian Endowments.
• Private schools: operate under churches, charities and individuals.
• Municipal schools: the Israeli Ma’arav schools and the municipality of occupation schools which are supported by and operate under the government of the occupation.
• UNRWA schools: affiliated with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
• Construction schools: run by individuals on behalf of the administration of Israeli knowledge ministry in the form of contracts to open schools in low-income environmental levels to fill in the shortage of schools which dedicates a policy of discrimination against the Palestinian population in the city. these schools are often unsafe, not subject to inspection or academic standards, and may even have replaced the original curriculum with the Israeli one entirely. One example of such schools is The Renaissance School which has 404 registered students and The Excellence school, which has 134.

The Apartheid wall and its effect on education in Jerusalem:

The Apartheid Wall, which is constructed on Palestinian land and isolates Jerusalem from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and splits its own Arab neighborhoods, towns and villages. This wall prevents many students and teachers that are residents in Jerusalem neighborhoods located outside the wall from entering the city and reaching their schools regularly.^[5]Note the following problems caused by the installation of the Apartheid Wall.^[6]

• The wall and its accompanying checkpoints delay the arrival of teachers and students to their schools, which affects not only achievement and attendance of students and complicates their timely retention of the material, but also discourages many students enough to eventually drop out.
• Psychological harm comes to these students and teachers as a result of continuous insult, inspection, and waiting for long hours and sometimes prevention of entry.
• Irregularity of teaching and the lack of permits offered to teachers from the West Bank delays and prevents them from reach their schools in Jerusalem.
• Preventing the “import” of books, furniture, supplies and food from the West Bank into Jerusalem.
• The imposition of fines and punitive measures on Jerusalemite Arab schools for the non-payment of taxes and under the pretext of unlicensed construction.

Jerusalemite Wanders is a tourism initiative undertaken by two amateur Palestinian researchers: tour guide Robin Abu Shamseiah and history teacher Sahar Zamamiri. Their project was launched with a series of informative tours to Jerusalem landmarks.^[1]

The tours focus not only on the old city of Jerusalem and the religious and historical sites inside and outside of the wall, but also on the towns, neighborhoods and villages of Jerusalem. They explore the Arab history and identity of the city and its surroundings as a response and challenge to to the tourism and narratives supported and controlled by the Israeli government.

The initiative aims to involve young residents and visitors to the area in the Palestinian narrative surrounding the city’s religious and archaeological sites. It has official pages on social media that describe the tours’ line and provide rich information on the history, nature and culture that fills the city.

Background on the health sector situation:

The process of Judaization threatens to abolish national institutions from Jerusalem and constitutes a challenge to all sectors of the development process; the health sector in the city is one of the mainly affected areas.^[1] After Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel took over the Government Hospital in Sheikh Jarah neighborhood and in 1985 turned it into police headquarters.^[2] The occupation attached government services to the Israeli Ministry of Health. Primary health services such as maternity and childhood were given to the municipality of Jerusalem, leaving communities outside the municipal boundaries neglected.^[3]

After the 1993 Oslo Accords , medical services to those outside the boundaries of the Jerusalem Municipality ,became the responsibility of the Palestinian National Authority The PA created 13 clinics covering 31 population centers outside the municipal boundaries, which are open only two days a week, except for Al-Azariya (is this a clinic?). UNRWA continues to provide health care for refugees. Palestinian inhabitants within the municipal boundaries are covered under the Israeli health system.^[4]

There are six specialized hospitals in East Jerusalem offering treatment to the people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip:^[5]
1. Auguste Victoria – Al-Mutala’a
2. Makassed
3. Saint John – Eyes Hospital
4. Mar Youssef
5. Red Crescent
6. Princess Basma
These hospitals provide health care, specialized consultations and surgery for children and adults. The Palestinian Authority has transferred 3,000 patients a year to these hospitals and a large number of patients visit them without remittances.^[6] However, Jerusalem towns and villages are isolated from the city by military checkpoints that only allows entry by walking. This forces the patient to walk to the ambulance and be subject to harassment and inspection. Sometimes patients are not even permitted to cross the checkpoint and thus have to go to a hospital in Bethlehem in a trip that takes another 45 minutes.

Problem suffered by the health sector in Jerusalem:

The health sector in East Jerusalem suffers from many problems; here are number of them:^[7]

• Permits: military barriers and the Apartheid wall pose challenges for patients and medical personnel from the West Bank and East Jerusalem;
• Jerusalem is isolated from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and prevents patients from reaching hospitals in a violation to all international customs and conventions;
• Doctors, ambulances, nurses and medical staff are denied access to their work without permits and sometimes face outright refusal;
• Apartheid Wall isolated Jerusalem neighborhoods and towns from each other and from the center of the city;
• The Israeli government follows a policy of marginalization and the provision of a minimum of services, infrastructure and facilities to the Arabs of Jerusalem while preventing the PA from providing services there;
• Weak access to physical health services and reluctance of international donors to provide support for a variety of reasons;
• Lack of health references in the city and poor coordination between health service providers.

Many obstacles caused the number of patients visiting Jerusalem Arab hospitals to decline, threatening the sustainability of Arab hospitals. In 2005, the Arnona tax was levied on hospitals, although they are charitable institutions, retroactively until 2003, which put them in a financial crisis and threatened some hospitals to go bankrupt, forcing them to reduce their services to patients. The total of these taxes amounted to 120 million dollars on Al-Makased hospital alone.^[8]

This section will be devoted to address all about the health sector in Jerusalem.