Limited Statehood and the Rule ofLlaw: East Jerusalem’s Education System as a Case Study

Abstract

This chapter considers the effect of Israel’s limited statehood in East Jerusalem on the rule of law. It focuses on the education system, where local resistance to Israeli administration has been the strongest. The chapter analyses Israel’s response to this resistance through three main strategies: enforcement of the law, including through force; adaptation of the law; and turning a blind eye to violation of the law. While these strategies have succeeded to a large extent to obfuscate the gap between Israel’s intended policies and realities on the ground, they cannot fully vitiate the impairment of the rule of law, because they themselves compromise it.

Keywords: Jerusalem, Israel, Palestinians, education, curriculum, legitimacy, limited statehood, rule of law