Double Standards vs. Equity – Treatment of Palestinians : From Blog Posts to Book 

The purpose of “Double Standards vs. Equity – Treatment of Palestinians” and these blog posts is to combine them into a published book entitled Safe Schools for Jewish Students: An Educator’s Guide to Preventing Antisemitism and Strengthening Belonging.

Go here for the full Table of Contents.

Chapter 4 – Double Standards vs. Equity: Treatment of Palestinians

Double Standards vs. Equity: Treatment of Palestinians

I read a social media post that said, “When it comes to the tragedy of the Palestinians: Egypt built a wall, not letting them in. Jordan closed its borders to them. Lebanon keeps them in camps. But somehow… all of that is Israel’s fault?”

Indeed, there is systemic discrimination in Israel against Arab Israelis who identify as Palestinians. While it’s good for Israelis to have meaningful discussions on how to improve the conditions, it’s not a reason for protestors in other countries to demand the annihilation of Israel. Such a demand would be akin to people in Britain holding protests against the systemic racism against African Americans in the United States, demanding that the U.S. no longer exist.

Here’s a list of other places that Palestinians face oppression and discrimination. If teaching about the needless suffering of Palestinians, be sure to include these other places.

1. Hamas (Gaza Strip)

• Conducts arbitrary arrests and detentions of opponents, including peaceful critics, with limited due process. Hamas security services have detained political opponents and critics in ways that violate basic legal rights.
• There are widespread reports that Hamas suppresses freedom of expression and assembly, including through intimidation and torture.
• Its conduct during and around conflicts is linked to significant civilian harm, including use of civilians in war contexts.

2. Palestinian Authority (West Bank — Area A)

• Security forces under the PA have arbitrarily arrested, detained, and tortured Palestinians in response to dissent, peaceful speech, or political opposition (e.g., critics or supporters of rival factions).
• Operations such as the 2024–25 Jenin security action included home sieges, restrictions on movement, and alleged beatings of critics.
• Critics and activists have reported suppression of free expression and intimidation tactics.

3. Egypt

• Historically, Egyptian law treated Palestinians as foreigners with rescinded rights to free education, employment, and residency, leaving long-term effects on their ability to integrate or access services.
• Egyptian territory is often the only exit point from Gaza, yet Palestinians — particularly refugees — may find themselves in legal limbo without full rights to education, employment, or residency, and often lack Egyptian travel documents.
• Egypt refuses to permit UNRWA to operate domestically, limiting institutional support on Egyptian soil.
• This contributes to prolonged statelessness and denial of basic civil rights.

4. Lebanon

• Palestinian refugees in Lebanon face systemic discrimination: they often are barred from many professions, cannot own property easily, have restricted access to healthcare and education, and live in overcrowded camps with limited legal status.
• Lebanon historically has restricted social and economic rights, leaving many refugees in precarious conditions.

5. Jordan

• While Jordan hosts a large Palestinian population (a majority of Jordanians are of Palestinian descent), some Palestinians — especially those who fled from Syria — often face statelessness or limited access to government services and rights because they are not citizens.
• Registered refugees may have access to services, but non-citizen status can still impose limitations.

6. Syria

• Palestinian refugees in Syria have been trapped in conflict zones, with limited protection under the Syrian state and are often excluded from full refugee rights that other groups receive.
• Many have fled to neighboring countries yet struggled to gain legal protection.

7. Saudi Arabia

• Like many Gulf states, Saudi Arabia historically restricts political expression, organization, and rights of stateless or non-citizen Palestinians, though it doesn’t have as concentrated refugee communities as Jordan/Lebanon/Syria.

8. United Arab Emirates & Gulf states (restrictions on migrant Palestinians)

• Many Palestinians in Gulf countries are treated as guest workers with limited labor rights, subject to the region’s kafala labor system, which restricts mobility and labor protections (a pattern shared across Gulf states).

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Author Biography of Safe Schools for Jewish Students

Ezra Barany, son of a Bronx father and a Dutch mother from Nazi-occupied Netherlands, loves riveting readers with Jewish thrillers. His first two books in The Torah Codes series were award-winning international bestsellers. In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach Beth Barany. A high school physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife and two cats working on the next book. Ezra, not the cats.