This article discusses a qualitative case study that investigated the micropolitical processes inside an Arab junior high school in Israel during the enactment of the New Horizon reform. Our analysis focuses on how the school's educational staff interprets and translates the reform into practice, how their professional identities have developed along this process and on the role of their background as members of the Arab-Palestinian community. We found the principal and teachers draw on both collaborative and conflict-promoting strategies to defend their interests. The study demonstrated the importance of micropolitical considerations and local contexts for macropolitical reforms.