STRIKE KEEPS CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS CLOSED IN ISRAEL

Mideast Israel Christian Schools. (Photo: AP)

Tel Aviv, 22 Dzulqa’dah 1436/6 September 2015 (MINA) – Classes in more than 40 Christian schools in Israel did not start as they should have this week.

Tens of thousands of students and teachers are on strike over the Israeli government’s decision to slash funding for the schools.

Al Jazeera’s Scott Heidler reports from Ramla, a community between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

In Israel, many of the 48 Christian schools that cater to both Christian and Muslim students have begun operating even before Israel officially became a nation in 1948.

Two years ago, the government cut down state subsidies to the Christian schools by 34 percent, making it more difficult for the school and the students’ parents to cover the remaining expenses for education, according to Christianity Daily (CD).

In the past few years, donations from charitable institutions have filled the funding gap for the Christian schools. However, the recently implemented rules have limited the amount that the institutions can receive from their sources.

Unless the Christian schools become officially part of the state educational system, the funding will continue to be incomplete. But school leaders do not want to comply with this condition because they say doing so will limit their autonomy and put their buildings and staff under the control of the government, Christianity Today reports.

In a joint statement, the school administrators said the additional funding from the Ministry of Education will not bridge the gap that the budget cuts have created over the years. It will also not prevent policies that discriminate against them, they added.

“Recently [the ministry has] even tightened the noose around our necks with regulations limiting the percentage of tuition we can charge,” CD quotes the school administrators’ statement. “This is a death strike that will prevent our schools from being able to work!”

The Christian schools want the Israeli government to resume the 65 percent funding that they were receiving prior to the policy change.

Giving in to the demands of the Christian schools will cost the Israeli government an additional expense of $52 million every year. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)