Following a Supreme Court petition that was filed by Adalah and the Association for the Development of Arab Education in Haifa in August 2007, demanding that an official, special Arab school for the arts be opened in Haifa, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Municipality of Haifa offered to establish an “educational space” for Arab pupils in Haifa, in which existing schools with special orientations will operate. According to the MOE’s response to the Supreme Court, work on creating this educational space will be completed by September 2010.

Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher submitted the petitioners’ response to the MOE’s response proposal on 7 July 2008, in which the petitioners agreed to the establishment of an educational space for Arabs, from which each school can derive benefit, according to its specialization. The petitioners also demanded that an Arabic-language special school for the arts be opened by 1 September 2008, arguing that this would allow for a continuation of the specialist education program that began at the al-Karma B preschool in Haifa, where the children who finished preschool will continue their education at an al-Karma elementary school in the 2008-2009 school year.

In addition, the petitioners requested that the Supreme Court hold a hearing to decide on their response and the decision of the MOE and the Municipality of Haifa, and the Supreme Court is now scheduled to hold such a hearing on 4 August 2008.

The Association for the Development of Arab Education in Haifa suggested the establishment of an educational space for Arab pupils approximately five years ago, in the context of a report that it presented to the Municipality of Haifa entitled “Regeneration.”

In the response, Attorney Zaher emphasized that the petitioners’ agreement to the establishment of an educational space is conditional on the MOE and Municipality of Haifa’s commitment to a timetable provided in their response to the petition, and to their commitment to involve the Arab community and the parents of Arab school children. Adalah also conditioned the petitioners’ agreement on their reserving their right to approach the courts in case the plan is not implemented.

The petitioners stressed that establishing a school for the arts in Haifa is an urgent demand given that the school building already exists; that over 100 families have registered their children to study there; a curriculum has been prepared for the school; the matter was transferred long ago to the MOE’s committee for special schools (the Weinstein Committee); and the school’s staff is ready to begin teaching. The petitioners therefore argued that not opening the school immediately would harm the children who have been learning in the al-Karma B preschool during the past school year and violate their right to education, as well as the right of their families to choose a suitable education for their children, one that is consistent with their attitudes and the abilities of their children.

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