Volume 39, August 2007 www.adalah.org Education Rights Adalah, The Association for the Development of Arab Education and 33 Arab Families Petition Supreme Court to Establish First Arab School for the Arts in Haifa Unrecognized Villages Following Urgent Motions filed by Adalah, Court Freezes Demolition Orders against 45 Houses in the Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Village of al-Sura in the Naqab Adalah’s General Director Testifies before UN Special Committee Investigating Human Rights Violations against the Palestinian People Torts and Torture Adalah Demands Compensation for Arab Family Violently Assaulted by Police Officers Adalah: Forcing Palestinian Detainees to Strip Naked is a Method of Torture Prohibited under International Law Religious Rights Supreme Court Orders State to Explain Failure to Recognize Muslim Religious Sites as Holy Sites and Provide Funds for their Protection The Right to Life The Ataa Center Demands that Winograd Committee Investigates Repercussions of the War on Lebanon on Arab Towns and Villages in Israel Human Rights Defenders United Against Torture Coalition Condemns Israel’s Administrative Detention of Human Rights Defender EMHRN and its Member Organizations in Israel, the OPT and Europe Protest Israel’s Denial of Freedom of Movement to Human Rights Defenders from the Gaza Strip Adalah’s Newsletter is a monthly publication issued in Arabic, Hebrew and English. It highlights Adalah’s main activities, provides analysis of human rights issues, and links to new reports. Suggestions, articles and commentaries from our readers are welcome. View previous volumes Arabic Version Hebrew Version Subscribe a Friend Opening Remarks The Education Gap Over the past decade, two main characteristics of the petitions filed by Adalah to the Supreme Court on behalf of Arab organizations in the field of education stand out. The first is the focus in these petitions on the very right of access to education in Arab towns and villages. For example, these petitions dealt with the lack of schools at all levels in certain areas, particularly the Naqab, the lack of suitable access roads to schools, the transport of pupils to schools located far from their homes, and the connection of schools to infrastructural services. The second characteristic is the focus on direct discrimination in the allocation of funding, for example, the challenge to the “Shahar” academic enrichment program’s application to Jewish students only, and the classification of 553 towns and villages as National Priority Areas “A” in the field of education, excluding all Arab towns except of four small villages. Last month, Adalah filed another kind of petition to the Supreme Court on behalf of 33 Arab families in Haifa. This petition demanded the establishment of the first special state school for the arts for Arab children. Today there are 25 special state art schools for Jewish pupils in Hebrew, and none for Arab pupils. This petition is indicative of the extent of discrimination and the huge gap between the Arab and Jewish education systems. At the same time as the Education Ministry funds tens of special state schools in various fields (such as art, music, science, technology, media and democratic schools) for Jewish students, Arab organizations are still struggling for the very existence of ordinary schools for Arab children. Scholarships Adalah Announces Scholarship for Arab Lawyers Bank of Ireland Fellowship in Human Rights HR Advocates Program at Columbia University Main office: PO Box 510 Shafa'amr, 20200 Israel Tel: (972)-4-950-1610 Fax: (972)-4-950-3140 Naqab office: 28 Reger Ave # 35 Beer el Sabe, Israel Tel: (972)-8-665-0740 Fax: (972)-8-665-0853 adalah@adalah.org www.adalah.org

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