In April 2024, a bill to oversee teachers and schools, with the long title “Prohibition of Employing Convicted Terrorists and Supporters of Terrorism, and Supervision of Teaching Content to Prevent Incitement,” was put to a vote in the Knesset Education Committee. This title hides a different objective, light years away from any true intention to maintain the safety of students and teachers in schools. This bill seeks to increase supervision of Arab teaching staff in order to keep “supporters of terrorism” away from the education system. In practice, the bill labels all Arab teachers as potential terror suspects – in complete contradiction to the professional recommendations of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, and the Security Service – which oppose treating teachers as a population that requires some kind of “surveillance” and scrutiny.
The education system already has the option of firing teaching staff who are not suitable for the position, so there is no need for this law, and it is clear that its entire purpose is to threaten Arab citizens and residents. To label them as enemies and to abolish their freedom of expression. At this time, we need steps in the opposite direction – we need to help Arab teachers educate for humanism, tolerance, dialogue, and shared living. We need to help them engage in real educational dialogue with the students, to provide values-based education, to develop the students’ identity and true familiarity with Israeli society. The bill is a step backward in the struggle for an education system that will raise equal and involved citizens, so we must stand together and demand freedom to educate for a better shared future.
