TEL AVIV, January 21, 2026 (WAFA) — The Israeli Knesset approved on Wednesday evening a law prohibiting the employment of anyone holding an academic degree from a Palestinian higher education institution in the Israeli education system, in legislation widely seen as targeting Palestinian academics inside Israel who studied at universities in the West Bank.

The law, initiated by Knesset member Amit Halevi and a group of coalition lawmakers, was passed in its second and third readings, with 31 members voting in favor, 10 against, and one abstention.

Under the new legislation, amendments are introduced to the State Education Law and the Supervision of Schools Law, stipulating that anyone holding an academic degree from a higher education institution under the Palestinian Authority will be considered as lacking the required academic qualification for employment in the education sector.

The amendments bar such individuals from working as teachers, school principals, or educational supervisors, even if they meet other professional requirements, effectively creating a comprehensive legal obstacle to their integration into the Israeli education system.

The law includes transitional provisions exempting those already employed in the education sector before it comes into force, those who had obtained a Palestinian academic degree prior to its enactment, or those who had completed a full academic year toward such a degree.

The text and justifications of the law indicate that it is not based on individual assessments of academic content or graduate competence, but rather on a political and ideological generalization applied to entire educational institutions, making it a legal tool for collective exclusion targeting a specific group of Palestinian academics in Israel. 

M.N