#HolyLand – Christian schools across Jerusalem suspended classes on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, after Israeli authorities refused to renew entry permits for more than 70 teachers and staff members who live in the West Bank, school officials said. The decision left thousands of students without instruction on the first day of the 2026–2027 academic year.
The General Secretariat for Christian Educational Institutions of Jerusalem announced the suspension late Monday. Officials said they had been preparing to open when they learned, suddenly and without prior warning, that permits for educational, administrative, and support staff would not be renewed. The absence of those employees disrupted classroom instruction as well as health services, cleaning, administration, and security arrangements, the secretariat said. Officials concluded they could not guarantee students a safe and stable start.
“We were unfortunately surprised, once again, by the non-renewal of entry permits for more than 70 teachers and employees,” the secretariat said in a statement. After consulting parent representatives and other Jerusalem schools, the institutions decided to halt attendance beginning Tuesday morning until the permits were reissued.
The measure affected more than 8,500 students in the Christian schools, according to several reports. Broader coverage of private schools in East Jerusalem put the combined impact higher. There are about 15 Christian schools in the city, most serving predominantly Palestinian students and operated by various church denominations; the suspension applied to a large share of them.
Sylvia Amer, deputy director for academic and administrative affairs at Collège des Frères Jerusalem, said the reversal came after authorities had indicated in June that permits would be available for the full staff. The last-minute change, she said, forced the postponement of opening day.
Schools had faced similar permit delays at the start of the previous academic year, when more than 170 West Bank teachers initially went without documents before the issue was resolved after about a week. Classes were also suspended in January 2026 for the same reason. Restrictions on Palestinians entering Israel and East Jerusalem had tightened after the October 7th, 2023, and the start of renewed conflict against Gaza.
A news report published the same day said some of the teachers eventually received permits but still missed the first day of school. Israeli policy requires West Bank residents to obtain permits to enter East Jerusalem for work. Coverage of an official Israeli government explanation for why Israeli authorities refused to renew the permits was limited.
The permit dispute unfolded alongside a separate controversy over curriculum. Israeli authorities directed that new first- and seventh-grade classes in East Jerusalem’s Palestinian-majority municipal schools use the Israeli curriculum exclusively. Palestinian officials described the expansion as an attempt to replace the Palestinian program and said it would place more than 45,000 students—about one in three Palestinian students in East Jerusalem—into the Israeli system.
School leaders said they hoped the permit crisis would be resolved quickly so that classes could resume under stable conditions. They warned that repeated disruptions undermined the institutions’ ability to operate and affected students, families, and staff. As of the evening of September 1, the suspension remained in effect pending permits being issued.
Cover Image: Collège des Frères Jerusalem.
