Abstract
The murder of an Arab high school principal, on the eve of the opening of the school year, was unprecedented and “rocked the education system” in general and Arab society in Israel in particular, leaving the school to face this terrible tragedy. Case study is employed here to conduct an inductive observation of the immediate and long-term implications of this traumatic incident, attempting to understand and describe the consequences for the school fabric of teachers and other employees, students, and parents. More specifically, the research aims to respond to the following questions: (1) what was the underlying background for this tragic occurrence? (2) How did the staff experience the loss? (3) How did the tragic event influence the school system’s functioning? (4) What were the implications of the event for the Arab community and society in general? To clarify these questions, in-depth interviews were conducted with members of the school staff, some of the older students, and parents. Additionally, documentary evidence including public announcements, reaction documents, and events that occurred following the event are analyzed in an attempt to understand additional consequences of the tragedy, the reactions to it, and subsequent policy and leadership actions in the web of different relevant systems.
The authors dedicate this chapter to the blessed memory of Mr. Yosef Shahin Haj-Yehia, who was murdered in his office on 25 August 2014 while fulfilling his duty as the principal of the Amal High School in Taibe.
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Notes
- 1.
The murderer, the owner of a kiosk in the school, who had disagreed with the principal about the opening of an additional kiosk in the school, was found almost immediately, tried, and after plea bargaining sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment.
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Arar, K., Arar, E., Haj-Yehia, S. (2019). Not to Silence the Principal But to Kill Him: Coping, Implications, and the Day After. In: Papa, R. (eds) School Violence in International Contexts. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17482-8_5
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