Aliya Nusseibeh

Aliya Ibrahim Suleiman Nusseibeh (1927 – February 1, 2021) was a Palestinian educator from Jerusalem. She served as principal of the Al-Ma'munieh Girl's School in East Jerusalem and founded a number of private schools in opposition to the Israeli education policies enacted in the city after its occupation. She worked in the Palestinian education sector from the age of 18 in 1942 until 2005 when she finally retired at the age of 78. She died in Jerusalem at age 93. 
==Early years==
Aliya Nusseibeh was born in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was located in the Mandate of Palestine under British control. Her family, the Nusseibehs, are an ancient Jerusalemite Muslim family. They are famous for holding the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as part of an agreement laid down during the early days of the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem in 637 CE.
Aliya's family sent her to the prestigeous German Catholic Schmidt's Girls College when she was very young. She received her matriculation certificate there at the young age of 13 in 1940 and also gained a certificate that qualified her to work as a teacher in all of Palestine.
==Early Career==
Aliya Nusseibeh began teaching in Hebron in 1942. She left her position in Hebron just one year later when she was able to find a job in Jerusalem. There in 1943 she began working at the largest public government school for girls in East Jerusalem, Al-Ma'munieh Girl's School, teaching English and Mathematics. She taught there for 5 years until 1948.
In 1948, Aliya and her family were expelled from Jerusalem due to the Palestine War in 1948, which many Palestinians term the Nakba. Her family lived in Damascus until 1952, when they returned to East Jerusalem which was then under control of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. She was able to return to work at Al-Ma'munieh Girl's School, eventually becoming principal in 1960. As principal of Al-Ma'munieh, Aliya helped the school reach great success. Due to its success, she along with another top-ten high school principals were invited to visit King Hussein of Jordan at his palace. The king himself also visited the school more than once during her tenure.
==Later Career==
After the 1967 Six-Day War when Israel occupied and then annexed East Jerusalem, Aliya Nusseibeh resigned in protest from her position as principal. She resigned due to the Israeli policy that forced public Palestinian schools to adopt the Israeli-Arab curriculum which did not include any information on Palestinian history and culture. She and several other Palestinian educators created alternative private schools to allow Palestinian parents to avoid the Israeli curriculum. They also created a "Secret Teachers Committee" whose mission was to preserve the Arab educational curriculum in Jerusalem. 
She helped to found two girls schools, Dar al-Fatat al-Laji'ah School and An-Nithamieh Secondary School. Aliya continued as the Director of Al-Nithamieh School in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem until 2005. Aliya used her own money to help start the school, cover the building rental fees, and furnish it. She was heavily involved throughout her career and took great care to protect her students from the violence that many other schools suffered at the hands of the Israeli police. She stated in an interview: Both schools for girls are still in use by Palestinians in East Jerusalem today.
In 2011, Aliya Nusseibeh was awarded the title, "Distinguished Lady of Jerusalem" .
==Awards and Honors==
Country 	Foundation 	Date	Decoration
Palestine	Al-Murtaqa Foundation	2011	Distinguished Lady of Jerusalem
Category:1927 births
Category:Palestinian people
Category:Palestinian educators
Category:Principles