Hundreds demand integrated, bilingual education in Jaffa

Parents say that the city is not offering a satisfactory option for bilingual and integrated education of Jewish and Arab children in the mixed city.

Jewish and Arab children at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Jewish and Arab children at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Hundreds of Jewish and Arab parents and children from Jaffa protested in central Tel Aviv Friday morning to demand that the city provide them with an option to study in an integrated, bilingual school that treats both languages, cultures and the three monotheistic religions equally.

The parents claim that the arrangement being offered to them by the city is not actually equal and does not satisfy their needs.

There are only seven integrated, bilingual schools in all of Israel.

The protest, which took place in the main square outside Israel’s national theater, “Habima,” included activities for children, dance and musical performances, and speeches from local Jaffa activists.

Children and parents at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)
Children and parents at a protest demanding bilingual, integrated Jewish-Arab education in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, March 11, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

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