For a whole year, 800 elementary school students from Ras Hamis School in Shuafat (East Jerusalem) were obliged to study next to a metal casting factory. Many students complained of headaches, vomiting and dizziness. The Municipality of Jerusalem refused to change the situation claiming the legal levels set for pollution were not exceeded. This week, the Israeli Supreme Court disagreed and ordered the municipality to find a solution within the week.

Keren Halperin Museri, a Jewish lawyer who works for Adam Teva V’Din, and Nisreen Alyan, a Palestinian lawyer who works for ACRI, have been working in close cooperation to challenge the municipality on behalf of the school children. Ms. Museri and Ms. Alyan met while participating in the course “Advocates for Change: Israelis & Palestinians Lawyers in Dialogue and Action” conducted by the Hewar Center for Peace & Development and the School for Peace at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam with the support of USAID. After a year of facilitated dialogue meetings dealing with the asymmetrical reality in the region and learning how to initiate positive change in their own local community, the duo was empowered to join forces, work with the parents and help the school.

There are 800 students from 5 to 12 years of age in the school at risk, denied the basic right to learn in a healthy environment. For the last year, the parents have been asking the municipality to move the school to no avail. The families initiated a strike to raise awareness. Ultimately, though the regional court agreed that it is not reasonable to locate a school next to a metal factory, the lower court sided with the municipality.

Finally, with the help of Ms. Museri and Ms. Alyan, the parents — also supported by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel — appealed to the Supreme Court with the cooperation of “Adam Teva V’Din” – Israel Union for Environmental Defense. Supreme Court justices Rivlin, Rubinstein and Naor accepted the appeal and ordered the municipality to find another building in a week that will not endanger the children’s health. Judge Eliezer Rivlin said: “The readiness to accept exposure of children to the danger accompanying the inhaling of dangerous materials even for one day is not a reasonable decision and therefore it should not stand.”

“Advocates for Change: Israelis and Palestinians Lawyers in Dialogue and Action” was made possible with the generous support of USAID and the American People in cooperation with the School for Peace at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam and Hewar Center for Peace and Development.