UNRWA teacher says she was threatened after criticizing lessons in Gaza — Jerusalem Post
A Palestinian teacher who worked for 15 years in UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip said she was threatened after criticizing educational materials. As the Jerusalem Post reports, citing an interview with the New York Post, the 40-year-old educator claims that school staff encouraged students to hate Jews and glorified Hamas’ armed struggle against Israel.
Dispute over lesson content
According to the geography teacher, she began working for UNRWA because she believed that a school under UN auspices could protect children from Hamas’ culture of violence. However, she claims that the reality was different.
She described a sixth-grade history lesson during which another teacher allegedly blamed Jews for Palestinians’ suffering and explained the creation of Hamas as a correction of a historical injustice. In another case, the educator claims, a teacher urged female students to continue Hamas’ struggle against Jews and later told colleagues about the views she instills in children.
Claim of threats
After an argument with a colleague over the content of lessons for female students, the teacher said that several days later a senior school official approached her holding scissors and threatened her. The educator claims that after this, she stopped voicing objections.
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She also said that she did not approach the administration because she did not know which officials might have ties to Hamas and feared for her family’s safety. The incidents she described, according to her, took place at an UNRWA school in Gaza City, which was closed because of the war and turned into a shelter for displaced Palestinians.
Context of allegations against UNRWA
The teacher’s name was not disclosed for security reasons. She said that radicalization in the education system could lead to new violence, and that the risk has intensified because of the war and the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip.
The Jerusalem Post notes that UNRWA has previously faced accusations of spreading antisemitic content and glorifying terrorism in its education system. After Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, a UN investigation found information indicating the possible involvement of nine UNRWA employees in the attack, after which the agency announced their dismissal. UNRWA did not respond to a request regarding the teacher’s testimony.
