The Stream

How Israel’s war on Gaza is destroying Palestinian education

With 80 percent of schools destroyed, students in Gaza have lost a year of education and are on the brink of losing another.

It is a back-to-school week in the Middle East, except for Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip. Their classrooms are in ruins or have become shelters for the displaced. Their backpacks used to be filled with books but now carry the little they have left.

Almost 80 percent of schools in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and the last remaining university in the Strip was demolished by the Israeli military in January. What effect will all these losses have on the culture and the memory of Palestinians?

Presenter: Anelise Borges

Guests:
Samar Saeed – Georgetown University
Muhannad Ayyash – Mount Royal University
Deanna Othman – Educator & journalist
Noor Nasar – Schools Without Borders founder
Afaq Baker – Student in Gaza