Discrimination Against Palestinian Arab Children in the Israeli Education System

The Israeli government operates two separate school systems for its 1.8 million school children: a Jewish system and an Arab system. The students in the latter are Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, nearly one quarter of all Israeli school children. Under international law, states may offer children separate educational systems for linguistic or religious reasons, but they may not discriminate in doing so. This Article will argue that, despite small advances in recent years, the discriminatory practices against Palestinian Arab school children that are institutionalized in its education system place Israel in violation of its international legal obligations.