The General Secretariat of the Christian Educational Institutions of Jerusalem has suspended classes in the Christian schools of the Holy City since this Tuesday, September 1, after Israeli authorities failed to renew the entry permits of more than 70 teachers and staff from the West Bank. The measure affects more than 8,500 students and will remain in place until the permits are reissued.
The decision was announced on Monday, given the impossibility of starting the 2026-2027 academic year normally. According to the statement from the Christian institutions, the lack of renewal occurred “suddenly and without prior notice,” preventing teachers and administrative and support staff from reaching their workplaces.
More than 70 teachers and staff unable to access Jerusalem
The measure affects educational, administrative, and support personnel. The schools warn that the absences impact not only classes but also health and administrative services, cleaning, and security measures at the centers.
In light of this situation, and after consulting with the relevant authorities and parent representatives, the school officials decided to suspend school activities from Tuesday morning until the permits are renewed.
“The absence of this large number of staff members affects various aspects of school operations,” the statement notes, which considers it impossible to guarantee “a safe and stable start” for students under these conditions.
The Christian institutions also defended the historic role of their schools in Jerusalem. “For hundreds of years, the Christian schools of Jerusalem have carried out a deep educational and humanitarian mission,” they recall, and form “an integral part of the city’s identity and its cultural and social fabric.”
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The statement warns that the repetition of these measures “undermines the stability of our schools” and hinders the fulfillment of their educational mission. The school officials are calling for a swift solution to guarantee students’ right to a regular and safe education and to prevent this situation from recurring.
A problem that has persisted since last school year
The crisis did not begin this Monday. At the start of the previous school year, 171 teachers from the West Bank also did not receive the necessary permits to work in the Christian schools of Jerusalem, which led the schools to call a strike. After one week, the authorities issued the permits and the teachers were able to return to the classrooms.
The situation later worsened. In July 2025, the Knesset Education Committee, the Israeli parliament, approved a measure aimed at preventing the hiring in Israel and East Jerusalem of Palestinian teachers with degrees obtained in the West Bank, on the grounds that those qualifications did not meet the required academic standards.
On March 10, the Israeli Ministry of Education also informed the directors of the Christian schools in Jerusalem that for the 2026-2027 school year they would only be allowed to hire teachers residing in the city and holding Israeli certificates. The measure could leave more than 200 Christian Palestinian teachers residing in the West Bank without work, according to Aid to the Church in Need at the time.
A representative of the General Secretariat of the Christian Schools warned then that if the decision were ultimately applied, the schools would find themselves in a situation that would put their continuity and their “Christian mission” at risk.
The schools claim the Christian presence in Jerusalem
The statement now released frames the educational crisis within the continuity of the Christian presence in the Holy City. The schools emphasize that their work is part of their “identity, culture, and presence in the city of Jerusalem” and aims to form generations based on “knowledge, values, belonging, and responsibility.”
The new dispute over permits comes just days after the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem warned about the growing difficulties in maintaining the Christian presence in the Holy Land, especially due to mobility restrictions, the loss of work permits, and the deterioration of the economic conditions of Christian families in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
The schools now hope that the permits will be renewed as soon as possible to allow teachers and students to return to the classrooms and have asked that this type of measure not be repeated. “We hope that everyone understands this decision,” they conclude, expressing their desire for the crisis to be resolved quickly.