Jerusalem Invests Millions in Arab Schools

Many of the 59 public schools, approved and budgeted under the Jerusalem Education Authority of the Ministry of Education, have been neglected, undersupplied, or overcrowded for decades. Since taking office in November 2008, Mayor Nir Barkat has been implementing improvements to get these facilities on par with schools in the western sector of the city, says Stephan Miller, advisor to Jerusalem's mayor.

A school in Ras al-Amud, an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem southeast of the Old Citywww.israel21c.org New schools, including approximately 200 classrooms, have been built in the eastern part of the city. The municipality is currently investing the unprecedented sum of NIS 300 million (about US $69 million) in the planning and construction of 285 additional new classrooms for Arab schoolchildren

“We are committed to investing in eastern Jerusalem and reducing the gaps, which are the result of years of neglect,” said Barkat upon announcing the improvements at the start of September. “We cannot countenance a situation in which Jerusalem pupils have no classrooms, roads, or basic infrastructures. These investments will lead to an increase in residents' quality of life.”