I made it to the finals for an admin position at one of my top choices. One of my references even told me that when they spoke with the school, they indicated that I was their top choice.

That was three weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything. I sent an email with a friendly follow up a few days ago and have yet to receive a response.

Should I be worried?

I was just told at the ISS Fair NYC by several Directors and Superintendents that the majority of leadership/admin positions are on a different recruiting cycle and begin much earlier, like May-October. Granted, I had 6 interviews and received several offers for various Principal and AP jobs so it's not like there weren't jobs to be had.

Thank you very much! My fear is not so much filling out the forms. I was more concerned with my children being subjected to discrimination, hatred, etc. I have no problem not telling people that I'm Jewish -- I do that now for the most part in the US because there is just as much anti-semitism here as there is in other parts of the world. My children, however, are a different story. They are happy and proud to be Jewish, except in December when they want to celebrate Christmas. They sing Jewish songs all the time and I'm more concerned that they will encounter problems because children don't hide who they are. The Israel thing isn't a problem for me at this point. I've never been and don't have an overwhelming desire to go. Again, thanks!

Thank you very much sid. Can you let me know which country you and your colleagues worked in?

sid wrote:
> The few Jewish colleagues I worked with in the ME did not share their
> religious affiliation. Only a tiny few in administration, and perhaps a
> couple personal friends. Students and fellow teachers did not know.
> Sadly, in the ME there remains great prejudice against Jews. Now and again,
> a teacher would be the target of rumors that they were Jewish, which never
> resulted in anything tangible happening, but generally such a rumor was
> started because for whatever reason the teacher wasn't particularly liked
> or trusted by students.
> In my years there, I heard some truly appalling statements made by students
> and families against Jews. I'd like to think I contributed a tiny bit to
> ameliorating these views, but it's hard to know.
> In most of the ME, it's legal but socially unacceptable to be Jewish.
> If you chose to explore this route, have your eyes open to what you'd be
> facing, and how you would approach it. Discuss with admin, before you sign,
> how they recommend you approach it, and how they intend to support you.
> If you have any bits in your CV or passport suggesting affiliation to
> Jewish organizations or Israel, be prepared to make these disappear. You
> can't get a visa approved if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport.

I’m considering applying for positions at a few schools in the ME (Bahrain, UAE, and possibly Oman), but I’m concerned that since my children and I are Jewish, we could run into trouble, hostilities, etc. We’re not super religious, but my kids have a habit of singing the Dreidel song in December, and I don’t want them to feel like they have to hide their religion.

Does anyone have experience with this in the ME?

Thanks!