ERIC Number: EJ838917
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-May
Pages: 23
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-4086
EISSN: N/A
Paralysis at the Top of a Roaring Volcano: Israel and the Schooling of Palestinians in East Jerusalem
Yair, Gad; Alayan, Samira
Comparative Education Review, v53 n2 p235-257 May 2009
Conflicts over East Jerusalem are often thought to reflect larger conflicts in the Middle East. In this article, the authors focus on schooling in East Jerusalem in order to provide a better appreciation of the protracted conflict in the area. This close examination of schooling in East Jerusalem can illuminate reasons for the political paralysis that has beset Jerusalem since 1967. Their study draws on a series of in-depth interviews with officials, principals, teachers, and students. Their purpose is to show both the unique sociopolitical position of the East Jerusalem residents and their system of education. In addition, the authors illustrate the challenges that this distinctive system faces in terms of crowded classrooms, funding of school programs, and the teaching force. The day-to-day reality of schooling in East Jerusalem exposes why it is so difficult to separate the Israeli and Palestinian political entities. The evidence leads to the conclusion that, in the absence of a fundamental change, the exceptional predicament of East Jerusalem and its educational system--centered in the midst of a state of exception--is likely to remain poor and frustrating, paralyzing both sides in a contained exchange of blows on an otherwise roaring political volcano. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 8 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Conflict Resolution, Conflict, Interviews, Principals, Students, Teachers, Crowding, School Funds, Educational Finance, Higher Education, Academic Achievement
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.journal.uchicago.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel; Israel (Jerusalem); Palestine
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A