Education Programs
In 1967, Palestinian prisoners were initially denied pencils and paper. In the wake of prisoner protests, access was granted to pens, pencils, paper, books, newspapers and monitored radio broadcasting. Libraries were established in every prison, and literacy and language courses were organized. Young prisoners were offered classes to prepare for the General Secondary Examination. Thousands of Palestinian prisoners have learned Hebrew in Israeli prisons.
In the 1980s, according to Maya Rosenfeld, the option of armed resistance was completely blocked and prisons became a "sanctuary". Her research among Palestinian refugees in the Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem found that the politicization process of young men from the camp underwent a qualitative transformation during their period of imprisonment, which she attributes to the internal organization practices of Palestinian prisoners and the central role of studies and education.
Eventually, Palestinian prisoners were allowed to take online courses from the Open University of Israel, and to complete academic degrees. Under the program, education for the prisoners was free, with prison authorities paying their university tuition. In 2009, there were 250 Palestinian prisoners studying at Israel's Open University.
In June 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, in response to a halt in the peace talks, that Palestinian prisoners would no longer be granted the right to pursue academic degrees in prison. In late 2012, three prisoners appealed the decision the Israeli Supreme Court, which rejected their appeal. In their ruling, the judges stated that the right to free university education does not apply to those convicted of terror offenses. The ruling did, however, call on prison authorities to be "considerate" in deciding the cases of prisoners already in the midst of academic programs.
Read more about this topic: Palestinian Prisoners In Israel
Famous quotes containing the words education and/or programs:
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“There is a delicate balance of putting yourself last and not being a doormat and thinking of yourself first and not coming off as selfish, arrogant, or bossy. We spend the majority of our lives attempting to perfect this balance. When we are successful, we have many close, healthy relationships. When we are unsuccessful, we suffer the natural consequences of damaged and sometimes broken relationships. Children are just beginning their journey on this important life lesson.”
—Cindy L. Teachey. “Building Lifelong Relationships—School Age Programs at Work,” Child Care Exchange (January 1994)