Hamas Adds Restrictions on Schools and Israelis

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Hamas Adds Restrictions on Schools and Israelis

By FARES AKRAM
Published: April 1, 2013

GAZA — Hamas, the Islamic group that rules this Palestinian territory, has issued a new education law enforcing a more rigid separation of sexes in schools and prohibiting any relations with Israelis, in line with its strictly religious and nationalist ideology, officials said Monday.

Critics here view the law, which mandates separate classes for boys and girls from the age of 9 and bars men from working at girls’ schools, as the latest move by Hamas to impose a more Islamic lifestyle on the people of Gaza. Hamas has already made efforts to impose Islamic dress on schoolgirls, among other things.

Yousef Al-Sherafi, a Hamas lawmaker and a member of the education committee, said in an interview, “This law is a safety valve for our national principles.”

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According to a copy of the 18-page law, it is intended to build the nationalist character of the students and prepare them to be “committed to the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic culture.” It says the law is meant to encourage pupils “to get to know Palestine with its historic borders, its history and its connection with its milieus.” It is set to go into effect at the start of the new school year in September.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/world/middleeast/hamas-imposes-new-restrictions-on-schools-in-gaza.html

[Purveyor]

1. I must ask...

Are the israeli schools 'prohibiting any relations with Palestinians , in line with its strictly religious and nationalist ideology' too?

Just wondering...

[pelsar]

3. no ....

israelis have ongoing relationships with Palestinians be it commerce, social, political, etc

in terms of gaza there are (were) constant communications between the gazans and those within israel for instance not just military, or humanitarian aid or medical, but social/political as well:

The members of Other Voice from Sderot and communities in the region, who are in ongoing contact and dialogue with citizens in the Gaza Strip .....

this is a hamas decision, made on their own for their own purposes to further limit any communication to israel or israelis and probably the outside world as well

[azurnoir]

4. umm this what the article says concerning Israel

But it stipulates that any educational institution that receives aid meant to encourage or promote normalization of ties with Israel will face punishment: a 10-year prison term for an individual perpetrator and a fine of 20,000 Jordanian dinar (about $28,200) for any institution involved in organizing exchange programs or activities that include Israelis.

That rule is also unlikely to affect most institutions here. Since Israel restricts the movement of Palestinians in and out of Gaza as part of its policy of isolating the Hamas government, hardly any schools or organizations are involved in such activities.

now this 'new' educational law of Hamas is terrible, but nowhere does it say anything about private communication with Israeli's on any other subject

[pelsar]

5. its hamas.....

they've already shut down/threatened internet cafes....people are now wearing beards and the female potato sack are now more common..

its clear they're following the classic religious fanatic style of govt which is to control their society.....and that includes communications as well....do you really believe if they've shut down/threatened the internet cafes, shut down any education possibility connection to israel, that they're going to let individuals go around them?

its not a surprise, nor unexpected...its just what dictatorships do.

[azurnoir]

6. I think individuals do anyway

otherwise why would people in Sderot bother? Not defending Hamas but where there is a will there's way

[Israeli]

8. Hmmmmmm

give Moshe Feiglin more power and time and "they" will be doing the same exact thing to us pelsar .

[pelsar]

9. yes im very aware of that..

of all the likudniks...hes the scariest of them all.....

[Israeli]

11. no pelsar he is not

the " scariest " of them all is Bibi
who outside of Israel really knows who Moshe Feiglin is and what his believes are ?
Likud, the secular right wing answer to the secular left , let itself be infiltrated by the religious right .... Sharon tried to stop it and Bibi went along with it .

Now he has Naftali Bennett in power ,who is just a more polished more acceptable version of Moshe Feiglin ....

There is a saying in America ... " The buck stops here "

Bibi should have stopped it long ago ...

[pelsar]

12. im not so sure...

Netanyahu for better or worse, does not propose a theorcratic govt....which translates to what hamas and friends are. Feiglin does and he is up and coming.....he is just getting started.

Yes Netanyahu didnt stop their infiltration, but they did it in the most intelligent way, through the army and now their getting the rewards..power. i dont now if he had the ability to stop it....same thing happened in Turkey and is now starting in Egypt.

[Israeli]

13. bibi has lost control

of his own party , his own friends and his wife
he let Feiglin get started
He didnt/doesnt have the inteligence to stop it

thru the army here ??!!!
there are those of us that saw that coming pelsar
(hey, they shot the CinC in the back)
not if we have anything to do with it
there will be a civil war here before we let that happen

[pelsar]

14. it was the obvious plan...

once the yeshivot changed policies and encouraged the students to go into the army, become officers etc, its was clear as day what the plan was. It wasn't a secret. Those kids were highly motivated, had the blessings of their rabbis and family and now were seeing the results.

the solution is not Feiglin, he has to be sidelined, but there are others who are religious who also know to compromise with the non religious....they are attempting to balance between liberal societies and their own religious beliefs.

For those, they also cherish the 'jewish people" which includes the non religious liberals (they believe were wrong, but....) they prefer us more than they do land ownership. If you dont know of them, then you have to get out of your bubble and go visit settlements like Hoshiyha near golani junction.

They're in second generation and they're learning that they prefer to keep families together and the country rather than cause separations.....

[Israeli]

15. please dont patronize me pelsar

I dont live in a bubble, I know where Hoshiyha is and I know the difference between Feiglin and his supporters and other Dati Leumi .
Its all politics , my problem is with the religious right wing .

They're in second generation and they're learning that they prefer to keep families together and the country rather than cause separations.....

You never heard of Yosef Burg ?
According to Shimon Peres, Burg's most important legacy was trying to bridge the gulf between religious and secular Jews..... long before those now in Hoshiyha pelsar .

His son Avrum Burg is one of our most well known post-zionists .

Anyhow thanks for the lesson , greatly appreciated from someone who gave Uri Avnery and Gideon Levy as examples of liberal Zionists

[pelsar]

16. your right and i apologize

bad habit here of mine, of so much written and so little knowledge. (rare to have some here who has more knowledge then me on israeli politics)

Hosyhia is a whole settlement (i'm sure there are others, but this is one that i know of), whos making decisions not out of some theoretical political need, but out of real need to keep their families together, the kids who are no longer religious. Those are real repercussions that have real affects. Unlike "gesher" they've actually bent some of the religious rules for family.

As far a Burg goes...actually i was never impressed, i'm really not impressed with the whole "post zionist" thing...it strikes me as the traditional jewish attempt to be "like everyone else" and not give a special name to nationalism. Zionism to me is simple nationalism for the jews, nothing sinister about it, and i dont believe in giving it up to others as if somehow its now become a dirty word

which is why i have no idea who considers themselves "post zionist' just as i dont know the different haridi groups...i just dont follow them.

[Israeli]

18. no problem pelsar

the kids who are no longer religious. Those are real repercussions that have real affects. Unlike "gesher" they've actually bent some of the religious rules for family.

Agreed .
We tried 'gesher' at our local kibbutz high school , started off well enough but ended badly .

As far a Burg goes...actually i was never impressed, i'm really not impressed with the whole "post zionist" thing...it strikes me as the traditional jewish attempt to be "like everyone else" and not give a special name to nationalism. Zionism to me is simple nationalism for the jews, nothing sinister about it, and i dont believe in giving it up to others as if somehow its now become a dirty word

I'm not one for pushing my ideology on anyone pelsar , for me its been a long slow process .
I've been involved in the peace movement since the early 80's and was with Burg the night he was injured and Emil Grunzweig was killed .
I dont think its possible for anyone to understand us unless they were born into the conflict as we were and lived through the 80's and 90's , the defining moment for all of us was Rabin's assassination .

[azurnoir]

2. well from reading the article it appears that most of these 'new' rules are

Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2013, 02:47 AM - Edit history (1)

already in effect, but this puts a governmental stamp on the them, making them something else entirely and the rules concerning Israel, Israel has no relations with Hamas or Gaza in any event so there are not any exchange programs anyway, but surely someone will complain

[Israeli]

7. so have we

Hamas, the Islamic group that rules this Palestinian territory, has issued a new education law enforcing a more rigid separation of sexes in schools

in the State-religious run schools .... not the secular ...

see :

http://religionandstateinisrael.blogspot.co.il/2013/03/religion-and-state-in-israel-march-14.html

[pelsar]

10. religious schools are ok...

just as secular schools are ok.....we need both and both get to restrict, teach and brainwash their students be it socialism, liberalism, communism, as well as religious god given rights to be bigots....and all will get govt funding.....

its the govt that is not allowed to restrict communications........the govt job is to allow the students to move between the different types of societies and protect their choices and that requires open communications, be it local or intl....

[azurnoir]

17. seems realy big news

is anyone really surprised that Hamas would do this? or what?

[bemildred]

19. Not at all.

It's not new, it's not different.

[azurnoir]

20. oh I know that but some here seem to think it is or something

[bemildred]

21. Yeah, nationalism, circling the wagons, who could have predicted this? nt