Palestinian Teachers’ Day: How Palestinians have used education as act of resistance

By Humaira Ahad

Palestine’s love for learning is as old as history itself. Palestinians have long had cultural and educational traditions dating back to antiquity.

Palestine’s commitment to education is a significant part of its identity. The resilience of Palestinians is showcased by the country’s incredibly high literacy rate, which stands at 97.7 percent.

In his book Palestine Across Millennia: A History of Literary, Learning and Educational Revolutions, Palestinian historian Nur Masalha writes that Palestine was a central international site of classical education and knowledge production, flourishing in languages such as Sumerian, Proto-Canaanite, Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin.

Masalha’s book debunks the Zionist narrative of Palestine being "[a] ‘black hole’ of nothingness, devoid of literacy, literary culture, and education."

Following the Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ (Zionist colonization of Palestine), education for Palestinians became all the more important.

It assumed a central position in people's lives and began to be used as a powerful act of resistance. Education serves as a way of asserting Palestinians' historical connection to their homeland.

Palestinian teachers have played a key role in safeguarding the centuries-old culture of their motherland and have been successfully passing it on to future generations.

Facing brutal occupation for more than seven decades, the Palestinian educators “have been continuously demonstrating their dedication and commitment, both within classrooms and online, proving that their will can never be conquered,” the Palestinian education ministry said in a statement.

“Teachers in the Gaza Strip continue to educate students even while being in sheltering centers, while their peers in Jerusalem play a pivotal role in safeguarding the authenticity of the Palestinian curriculum and narrative. And all over Palestine, teachers choose education as a means to liberation and to confront all attempts to undermine the Palestinian national identity,” the ministry said, lauding Palestinian teachers on the eve of Palestinian Teachers’ Day last year.

Israel’s continuous bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has made it impossible for the people in Gaza to celebrate Palestinian Teachers’ Day this year, which falls on December 14.

Nearly 45,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed by the Israeli regime in its genocidal war on Gaza since October last year.

Many of these victims have been teachers – both men and women.

Gaza’s teachers

In its genocidal campaign in Gaza, the Israeli regime has been targeting Palestinian teachers, intellectuals and academics in an attempt to muzzle the voice of resistance.

According to Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based human rights group, the Israeli army has intentionally targeted academic, scientific, and intellectual figures in the coastal territory.

“In Gaza, it was the writers, teachers, and poets who broke Israel’s military siege: not physically, but through the power of their stories, words, and narratives. They asserted that Gaza and its people exist, with dreams, aspirations, and a love for life just like the rest of us. That they will resist their colonizers until they can live freely,” Samar Saeed, co-founder of PalPrep, an organization that raises awareness about Palestine, wrote in a recent article.

Educationists regard the deliberate killing of Palestinian educators and intellectuals by Israel as a way to eliminate their influence on the younger generation. It is a tool used by the regime to snatch the sense of purpose, hope, and strength that Palestinian teachers imbue within their communities.

Obituaries by students for their mentors reflect the significant influence of Palestinian teachers on their students.

“Refaat Al-Areer’s classroom was more than an academic space; it was a sanctuary where dreams of liberation were nurtured and imagined, where the soul was fed, and which engendered hope, strength, and a commitment to resistance,” Yousef M. Aljamal, Al-Areer’s student, writes.

Al-Areer, known as Gaza’s beloved English professor and poet who was also internationally known for his writings, was killed by the apartheid regime forces in December last year.

Dr. Sufyan Tayeh, a world-renowned physicist, ranked in the top two percent of scientific researchers worldwide in 2021 by Stanford University, was killed by the Israeli regime last year.

He is remembered as an inspiration to countless students all over the world.

“Tayeh was a mentor and inspiration to several researchers coming to the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). There are several young scientists from the region on our campus today who are in great distress,” ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar said about Prof. Tayeh.

In a tribute to her teacher, Sara Tamer wrote, "My dear teacher and beloved martyr, Hadeel Abu Al-Roos, had a unique style in everything. She was truly exceptional. We are very grateful for your efforts and your love for us. We will miss your humor, your attitude, and your cheerful way of speaking."

Hadeel Abu Al-Roos, a physics teacher, was killed in October last year when an Israeli warplane attacked her home in the northern part of the blockaded territory.

Despite killing hundreds of teachers across the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank in the past 14 months, experts believe that the occupation forces are trying in vain to break the resistance manifested through education.

“Refaat is an idea, and his legacy will continue. There are thousands of Refaats, telling stories beyond Gaza,” says Aljamal.

Saeed believes that despite all the “poets, educators, and intellectuals that Israel has assassinated since 1948, thousands remain—committed to Palestine, risking everything to ensure that her voice is heard.”

Scholasticide in Palestine

According to November figures given by the Palestinian Ministry of Education, Israel has killed more than 12,000 students and injured 19,000 in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.

Around 444 school teachers and educational administrators have been killed, and 2,491 wounded in Gaza. Nearly 120 university professors and educational administrators have been murdered by the regime forces, while 1,221 have been injured.

In the occupied West Bank, the ministry’s data indicates that three school teachers were killed, 17 injured, and 153 were arrested, including nine university administrators.

At least 697 university students have been killed, and 1,523 others wounded in Gaza, while 35 students have been killed and 130 injured, in addition to the arrests of 229 students in the occupied West Bank during the same period, the Palestinian Ministry of Education’s report said.

The ongoing Israeli genocidal war on Gaza is depriving 88,000 students of their university education and 700,000 school students from attending school.

More than 90 percent of schools have been destroyed, and all of Gaza’s eleven universities and libraries have been bombed in the coastal strip.

The Israeli occupation army has stormed and vandalized 91 schools and seven universities in the occupied West Bank during the last year.

Experts regard this systematic destruction of education, precious to Palestinian society by the apartheid Israeli regime forces, as “scholasticide.”

“The role and power of education in an occupied society is enormous. Education posits possibilities and opens horizons. Freedom of thought contrasts sharply with the apartheid wall, the shackling checkpoints, the choking prisons," says Dr. Karma Nabulsi, a professor who coined the term “scholasticide” in 2009.

Save the Children, an NGO for children has regarded the figures as shocking.

“The satellite images show the scale of the bombardment on hundreds of schools. International Humanitarian Law (IHL) grants schools general protection against direct attacks: a direct attack against a school violates the rule of distinction and constitutes a breach of IHL.”

The humanitarian organization adds that attacks on schools are a grave violation against children.

“The destruction shown also demonstrates the devastating, lasting impact on a generation of children’s learning. Their learning has already been cut off due to this conflict. But once hostilities cease, they will have no schools to return to.”

The same fear is voiced by Sabina Bergholm, Fin Church Aid’s (FCA) Country Director.

“Schools should never be the target of bombing. During the war in Gaza, schools have also been used as shelters for refugees. Attacks on schools have killed and injured a huge number of civilians. When the war ends, it will also be difficult to resume teaching in schools, because either there are no schools or they have been damaged in the war.”

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