Minister Elkin
Photo: Yaron Brener
Elkin encourages Palestinian women to do national service in East Jerusalem
As more and more Palestinian women fresh out of high school seek to volunteer in schools in their area, the Jerusalem affairs minister asks the Authority for National-Civic Service to increase slots available to them; 'It is in our national interest to extend this trend,' Elkin says.
Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze'ev Elkin has recently asked the head of the Authority for National-Civic Service, Sar-Shalom Jerbi, to increase the number of available slots for young Palestinian women who wish to volunteer in East Jerusalem schools.
The trend began in 2011, with several dozens of young Palestinian women from East Jerusalem volunteering in the national service, mostly in their area of residence. Today, there are some 100 young Palestinian women who graduated from high school and are now volunteering in schools, kindergartens, HMO clinics, etc.
"It is in our national interest to extend this trend," Elkin told Ynet's sister-publication Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday.
Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Photo: Yaron Brener)
In a letter to the head of the national service authority, Elkin wrote: "The Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry is working in conjunction with the Education Ministry to improve the quality of life in East Jerusalem by strengthening the Israeli school curriculum and the schools that teach it.
"When we examined the issue with the Jerusalem municipality, we found that there is a need and a demand for more national service slots, mostly among young women who seek to volunteer at elementary schools, whose help significantly improves the quality of education in those schools," Elkin stated
"I view national service as having the utmost importance in helping minority populations to integrate into Israeli society, particularly residents of East Jerusalem. I am therefore asking that more resources are dedicated to the matter."
A school in East Jerusalem (Photo: Ahmad Jarbly)
The Authority for National-Civic Service added 30 slots for young Palestinian women, saying "Bolstering the young women from East Jerusalem using national service in the local education system—which follows the Israeli curriculum—could help in significantly increasing the quality of the education in those schools. In addition, doing national service could significantly help the young women themselves in acquiring professional experience so they could work in the field of education in the future."
The new volunteers will start working at schools in East Jerusalem starting September 1, with the opening of the new school year. They will receive all of the same benefits as Jewish girls do at the end of their national service.
Elkin, meanwhile, is examining the option of including young Palestinian men in national service as well in an effort to reduce the tensions in the city, encourage employment in the area and strengthen Israeli sovereignty in that part of the capital.
