A Palestinian teacher who spent 15 years working in United Nations schools in Gaza says she was threatened with having her tongue cut out after challenging fellow educators who encouraged hatred of Jews and violence against Israelis.
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The 40-year-old geography teacher, whose identity was not released, described the incident in an interview with the New York Post published Monday.
The teacher said that the confrontation began when she objected to a colleague’s statements to students. Days later, a school administrator allegedly confronted her with scissors and threatened her for speaking out.
She said she feared retaliation against her family and initially remained silent. Now, however, she is warning that Gaza’s schools risk producing another generation of extremists.
The teacher worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA. She said she originally sought employment there because she believed the U.N. would offer children an education free from the influence of Hamas.
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Instead, she alleges, teachers promoted extremist ideas and glorified violence.
Her allegations have not been independently verified, but UNRWA has faced serious questions about its neutrality before.
The United Nations investigated allegations that 19 UNRWA employees had participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. In August 2024, U.N. investigators showed that evidence indicated nine employees may have been involved, and they were fired.
UNRWA has maintained that it does not teach hatred in its schools and that it has zero tolerance for incitement to violence.
The teacher’s account comes as Gaza faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding an education system devastated by years of war. Teaching children to hate another people would only compound that tragedy.
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