Jerusalem: Its Identity, History, and Hashemite Custodianship - The Teacher's Message on World Teacher's Day

Author: Abdullah Tawfiq Kanaan

The teacher is the foundation of the educational process in societies, both ancient and modern. They are bearers of a sacred profession and heirs of the prophets, through whom nations advance and civilizations flourish. They spread goodness in society, instill values, and nurture generations with morals, thought, culture, and knowledge. The image of good teachers will remain in all our memories as an integral part of our intellectual and cultural formation, a model we always aspire to emulate. Today, we celebrate Teacher's Day, which was established by UNESCO in 1966 under the slogan "Supporting Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting This Profession and Improving Its Conditions and Shaping Our Future."

On Teacher's Day, we recall the daily suffering of the Palestinian teacher who has been martyred, arrested, and whose homes, schools, and universities have been destroyed by the Israeli occupation. They are caught between the hammer of the law prohibiting the employment of holders of certificates issued by Palestinian higher education institutions in the "Israeli education system," especially in the schools run by the occupation's Ministry of Education and municipality, and the anvil of the ban on renewing crossing permits for a large number of Palestinian teachers. This is the reality of the Palestinian teacher's life throughout decades of occupation, a teacher who is the most resilient and steadfast model for his sacred profession, especially under the weight of a brutal occupation that does not recognize international law or human rights and dignity.

The Royal Commission for Jerusalem, while expressing pride and admiration for every teacher in our homeland and nation who carries the trust of knowledge, affirms that Jerusalem and Palestine are their cause, and the Hashemite guardianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and its historical Arab identity, as well as raising awareness of what it is subjected to under occupation, is a duty entrusted to every messenger. It will remain in the conscience of every free person in the world until its people attain their historical and legitimate rights to establish the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of 1967.

On Teacher's Day, the commission emphasizes that the Palestinian cause is not merely an educational choice but a national, patriotic, and humanitarian duty. We reiterate the call for the necessity of establishing a mandatory curriculum to be taught in schools and universities, which reinforces awareness and fortifies generations with facts, affirming the status of Jerusalem in the nation's consciousness under the Hashemite guardianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. The royal directives, initiatives, and discussion papers have supported education, ensuring that this education remains the first line of defense in preserving identity and protecting it from Judaization, Israeliization, and Arabization. Jordan, as a people and leadership, will remain the historical guardian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, supporting our people in Palestine and Jerusalem, no matter the cost and the sacrifices involved.