Gaza’s entire education system must be torn down and rebuilt from scratch, Israel’s outgoing Education Minister Yoav Kisch told C14 today, warning that otherwise the Strip will stay “full of hatred of Jews wherever they are.”
Speaking on the C14 Israel Debrief, Kisch was asked whether deradicalizing Gaza meant overhauling its schools. He did not hesitate. “Completely replace the system,” he said.
What the textbooks teach
Kisch said the case against the current curriculum is written into its own pages. He described a math exercise from ‘Palestinian’ Authority materials in which a Jewish settler enters a classroom and kills 15 boys. Students are then asked to count the dead.
“This is direct incitement against Israel, against Jews, and we see it in their books,” he said.
Asked whether PA-run schools radicalize children, his answer was two words: “Yes, for sure.” That assessment is why Israel bars PA study materials from East Jerusalem classrooms.
A model from the Abraham Accords
Whatever replaces Gaza’s schools cannot be built on the ‘Palestinian’ Authority system or on Hamas, Kisch said. Planners at the coordination center in Kiryat Gat are already studying what a new system could look like. More moderate Arab curricula, including those of the UAE and Morocco, are among the models on the table.
Kisch argued the answer already exists in the region. “We do have moderate Arab countries, and under the Abraham Accords they are even at peace with Israel,” he said. “With their system, you would find the right method to implement it also in Gaza.”
He described those systems as respecting all faiths and steering students away from violence and hatred.
Why Israel stays in the background on Gaza deradicalization
Israel’s Ministry of Education has no formal role in the effort. Asked whether he wished it did, Kisch called it “a very sensitive question.” His reasoning is practical. A curriculum seen as Israeli would be rejected on arrival. “If it will be a direct approach, again, it will be pushed out,” he said.
Kisch confirmed he was consulted on the issue. His recommendation was to let other Arab states lead.
The East Jerusalem playbook
A quieter version of this effort has been running in East Jerusalem for four years. Schools there can choose Israeli or PA study materials, and Kisch said a growing number now teach the Israeli curriculum.
He was frank about keeping it low-profile. “We cannot brag about it, because then immediately you’ll get a clash against us.”
Kisch also championed new legislation barring teachers educated in Arab cities in Judea and Samaria from teaching in those schools. He called the curriculum push a huge success, while acknowledging the atmosphere there remains very difficult. Gaza would test the same approach across an entire territory.
What comes next
Kisch spoke ahead of Israel’s upcoming election, which he framed as a choice with consequences beyond the classroom. On one side, he said, is a strong right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu. On the other he put Gadi Eisenkot, who Kisch said would depend on Yair Golan and the Muslim Brotherhood, causing what Kisch called collateral damage to Israel internationally.
He wants to return as education minister. His pitch is a “New Deal” for Israeli schools: classes capped at about 20 students, a five-day school week and new agreements with the teachers’ unions. The plan requires 15 billion shekels in its first year, a cost he said the Finance Ministry has already accepted.
The full interview is available on the C14 Israel Debrief. Follow C14 English across all social media.