The proposed law says teachers in East Jerusalem must complete their studies in Israeli institutions to continue their work [GETTY]
The Israeli parliament has approved a vote on Wednesday that would ban Palestinian university graduates from teaching in Israeli schools.
In its preliminary hearing, the Knesset advanced a draft that would give the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Education the power to refuse to grant teaching licenses or an employment certificate to those who hold a university degree from a Palestinian academic institution.
It would also give the minister the right to issue an employment certificate to anyone seeking to teach or is already teaching at a school as long as they take further education in Israel.
Should the law come into effect, teachers who study at Palestinian universities in occupied East Jerusalem would be forced to complete their studies in Israeli academic institutions to continue their work.
The draft, submitted by Knesset member Amit Halevi of the Likud party and other coalition members, received a majority of 40 votes against nine opponents.
The bill will now go to the Knesset House Committee to decide which committee will debate it before it moves onto the three rounds of votes to become law.
An explanatory note in the bill says that there has been a rise in Israelis earning degrees at Palestinian universities and taking jobs in the Israeli school system.
It further goes on to allege the courses in these institutions contain “antisemitic content and indoctrination whose purpose is to deny the existence of the State of Israel and to seriously incite against it”.
“It is not appropriate for those who have chosen to pursue their study there to be employed in the Israeli civil service, and they certainly should not be allowed to expose helpless children to the material taught in PA institutions that incite against the State of Israel and educate them in the ways of terrorism,” the note adds.
The advancement comes after the Knesset passed a bill that would allow for teachers and educational professionals who “support terror” to be dismissed from the education system and persecuted.
Many Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up around 20 percent of Israel’s population, hold a degree from Palestinian universities.
Following Israel’s war on Gaza, Palestinians in Israel have been facing persecution from being singled out by the police, schools and employers over social media posts.
There have been cases of reprisal attacks, arrests, job dismissals, and suspensions from universities and schools.
