Second Class_Discrimination Against Palestinian Arab Children in Israel's Schools

the majority. The children in this parallel school system are Israeli citizens of Palestinian Arab origin. Their

schools are a world apart in quality from the public schools serving Israel’s majority Jewish population. Often

overcrowded and understaffed, poorly built, badly maintained, or simply unavailable, schools for Palestinian Arab

children offer fewer facilities and educational opportunities than are offered other Israeli children. This report is

about Israel’s discrimination against its Palestinian Arab children in guaranteeing the right to education.

The Israeli government operates two separate school systems, one for Jewish children and one for Palestinian

Arab children. Discrimination against Palestinian Arab children colors every aspect of the two systems.

Education Ministry authorities have acknowledged that the ministry spends less per student in the Arab system

than in the Jewish school system. The majority’s schools also receive additional state and state-sponsored private

funding for school construction and special programs through other government agencies. The gap is enormous–

on every criterion measured by Israeli authorities.

The disparities between the two systems examined in this report are identified in part through a review of official

statistics. These findings are tested and complemented by the findings of Human Rights Watch’s on-site visits to

twenty-six schools in the two systems and our interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and

national education authorities.

Palestinian Arab children attend schools with larger classes and fewer teachers than do those in the Jewish school

system, with some children having to travel long distances to reach the nearest school. Arab schools also contrast

dramatically with the larger system in their frequent lack of basic learning facilities like