The Al-Zahariya high school in Hebron routinely incorporates in its daily activities and materials content that glorifies terrorists and terrorist attacks. In the recent months the school commemorated several terrorists in ceremonies and sports activities and by alluding to them in various study materials. Among these terrorists are ‘Uday Al-Tamimi, who carried out a shooting attack at the Shu’afat checkpoint in East Jerusalem in which an Israeli soldier, Noa Lazar, was killed, and another shooting at the entrance to the town of Ma’ale Adumim, in which he himself was killed; Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, who was responsible for a series of shooting attacks against Israelis, as well as Ra’d Khazem, who perpetrated a shooting in Tel Aviv, his brother ‘Abd Al-Rahman Khazem, killed in clashes with the Israeli armed forces, and their father Fathi Khazem, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) National Security Forces who joined the militants in Jenin and is wanted by the Israeli authorities.[1]
The commemoration and glorification of terrorists finds expression in many school activities, both academic and social. For example, several days ago the school took pride in a tenth-grade physics exam in which one of the questions alluded to terrorist ‘Uday Al-Tamimi. The physics teacher who composed the exam, Khalil Abu Sharkh, displayed the exam question on his Facebook page with the caption ” Physics Scented with the Blood of the Martyrs.” His post was shared on the Facebook accounts of the school, of its principal Ghaseb Al-Shab’an, and of other teachers.
On his own Facebook page, the school principal proudly displayed a drawing made by one of the students, depicting the moment of Al-Tamimi’s death during the attack he carried out at the entrance to the town of Ma’ale Adumim.
The school also held a futsal tournament named after the terrorist Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, and the students produced banners commemorating the martyrs and encouraging the terrorists in Nablus and Jenin. Glorification of terrorists is further evident in speeches delivered by the teachers at school ceremonies, and in social media posts by the teachers and the principal.
This report reviews some of the school activities commemorating terrorists and the expressions of support for them by the school principal and staff.