Educational segregation

During a conversation about the schooling of Palestinian youngsters in Natzerat Illit, a veteran Israeli resident, formerly a member of the municipal council, once said to me:

The speaker's nightmare has not materialized, nor is it likely to. The Palestinian residents of Natzerat Illit, including those who have been living there long and plan to stay indefinitely, display no desire for their children to attend primary, secondary or high schools in the town. They are indifferent to the political implications of turning all-Israeli schools into mixed institutions. Sending their children to schools in Nazareth seems to them a matter of course – a state of affairs which Israelis in Natzerat Illit view with evident relief. One official in the education department put it to me in clear and simple terms: ‘Why should they attend our schools here? They have their own schools in Nazareth, where they belong. They go there, we are here, and everyone is happy.'

The universal lack of interest in mixed education on the part of Palestinians in Natzerat Illit is linked to the obvious advantages of the schooling system of Nazareth. Schools in the Palestinian town, especially those run by church institutions, have outstanding academic reputations. The atmosphere tends to be competitive and achievement oriented. Discipline is strict.