Israel passes law for immediate dismissal of teachers suspected of terrorism sympathy

Ministry of Education Headquarters, Jerusalem

Noa Shpigel reports in Haaretz on 5 November 2024:

Israeli lawmakers passed a law on Tuesday authorizing the education minister to withdraw funding from schools where “expressions of sympathy with terrorist acts are occurring or being permitted.”

The law also allows the Education Ministry’s director general to summarily dismiss teachers without prior notice if they “demonstrate sympathy with a terrorist organization” or “issue statements praising, supporting or encouraging” terrorist acts. The legislation passed with 55 votes in favor and 45 against.

The law was introduced by Likud’s Amit Halevi and Tzvika Foghel from Otzma Yehudit. The original version required the Shin Bet security service to monitor teachers by receiving an annual list of all the country’s teachers and their IDs from the Education Ministry. The Shin Bet would then check for any “evidence raising suspicion of support or sympathy for terrorism.”

The section was withdrawn following opposition from professional bodies, including the Shin Bet itself.

Following the law’s passage, Halevi declared, “Today, the Knesset is taking the most crucial step in the war against our enemies: striking at terrorism’s strongest foundation – education.” He added, “This law will ensure that Israeli students are educated in justice, science, and compassion, rather than terrorism, injustice and barbarism.”

Foghel added, “A teacher in the education system is one of the most influential figures in the lives of children and youth in Israel’s educational institutions. The bill I initiated aims to prevent teachers from using their influence to promote terrorist activities among their students and to ensure schools do not enable such behavior.”

During hearings in the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, opposition lawmakers highlighted concerns about granting unchecked authority to the Education Ministry’s director general to fire teachers.

Civil society organizations noted that while mechanisms already exist to dismiss teachers accused or suspected of supporting terrorism, the new law would expand this power without proper checks and balances.

Oshrat Elmaliah, coordinator of the Education for Shared Society project at the Sikkuy-Aufoq NGO, characterizes the law as a tool for “intimidation and silencing.”

She adds that “From now on, every Arab female educator in the country will know that if she chooses to express a political opinion or engage in challenging discussions within the school environment, she will be subject to the sole discretion of the ministry’s director general and minister, potentially facing accusations of supporting terrorism and losing her position without following current due process.”

Labor Party lawmaker Gilad Kariv criticized the bill during committee meetings as having superficial wording, saying it failed to specify crucial details such as the extent of budget cuts or their duration.

He described the bill as “populist, unnecessary and above all, extreme and dangerous.” He argued that “The Education Ministry already possesses the necessary tools to prevent all forms of incitement in educational institutions. Rather than ensuring the Ministry effectively uses these existing tools, this bill seeks to grant draconian powers to the ministry’s director general.”

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