No peace meetings on Israeli education minister's watch
Minister of Education Naftali Bennett is working not only to promote his ideological and political worldview in the school system, but also to block students from interacting with human rights and peace organizations that advocate values challenging his own.
Is the Ministry of Education aligning itself with the ideology of its minister, Naftali Bennett, chair of the right-wing HaBayit HaYehudi party? Based on an assessment of the changes to the education system since Bennett took office, the answer can only be yes.
The nonprofit Secular Forum investigated and found that the Ministry of Education has increased religious studies and introduced images and messages derived from Judaism into textbooks used for unrelated subjects. Bennett himself once said that he considers excellence in Jewish studies more important than math or science.
Over the last few weeks, it has become obvious that in addition to promoting Jewish studies, Bennett also actively suppresses the messages advocated by human rights organizations and the peace movements that conflict with his party's worldview.
HaBayit HaYehudi supports the annexation of territories in the West Bank and rejects the idea of a two-state solution. About a year ago, at an event in memory of settler leader Hanan Porat, Bennett declared, "We must give our lives" to the cause of annexing the West Bank to Israel. He added, "We have to mark the dream, and the dream is that Judea and Samaria will be part of the sovereign State of Israel." In the world that Bennett is trying to create, there seems to be no room for any groups or organization that advocate peace.
