Adalah and DCI demand teaching curriculum for Palestinian minors held in Israeli prisons

Education for detained Palestinian minors non-existent or inadequate

Currently, Palestinian minors held in Ofer Prison do not receive any organized education, and minors in Megiddo and Sharon Prisons receive inadequate and inappropriate teaching. Adalah and Defense for Children International (DCI) wrote to Israeli Prison Services (IPS) on 7 March 2013 demanding that education for all minors held in Israeli jails be improved immediately. 94 Palestinian minors are held in Ofer Prison, and 98 in both Megiddo and Sharon Prisons.  

No educational system whatsoever exists in Ofer Prison, while the educational systems in Megiddo and Sharon Prisons are not properly organized and do not provide age-appropriate material for the children. This, according to the two organizations, leaves children “unable to re-integrate into their classes following their release” and unlikely to graduate from high school  following their release.

Lack of education violates children’s rights

The letter, written by Adalah Attorney Rima Ayoub and DCI-Palestine Attorney Iyad Masak, argued that the lack of an organized educational curriculum violated the minors’ fundamental right to education. It also discriminates unfairly between Palestinian minors and Israeli minors held on criminal charges.

Adalah and DCI further argued that, “The practice of not providing appropriate education to detained Palestinian children infringes their rights to education, dignity and equality. It breaches Israeli constitutional law and contradicts the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision that prisoners have the right to education while in jail.”

The letter emphasized that the discriminatory denial of education to Palestinian minors held in Israeli prisons also flouts international standards, the UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education, and minimum standards for care for prisoners as established by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.