Crisis in the Zionist education system and teachers’ protest.
Teachers in occupied Palestine will strike again in all schools tomorrow, Sunday, from 8:00 to 11:00 am, following the Israeli authorities’ indifference to their livelihood situation.
The Israeli Ministry of Education has also called on Betzel Smotrich, the regime’s Finance Minister, and the teachers’ union to resume their meetings to reach an agreement on salaries.
In this regard, Smotrich warned Israeli teachers in a letter addressed to them that closing the education system amid the Gaza war and causing serious harm to parents and students as a result is an unacceptable and irresponsible act. He further called on them to refrain from striking, writing: “I cannot imagine that at a time when hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers are abandoning everything and going to war, those who educate our children will strike due to a disagreement over how to apply a percentage reduction in salaries to finance the Gaza war, and harm Israel’s efforts to fight in Gaza.”
According to Ma’ariv, the Teachers’ Union also reacted sharply to Smotrich’s letter, stating that the union’s decision to strike was made following the Finance Ministry’s actions to deliberately prevent a meeting to find a suitable solution to end discrimination against teachers.
In this regard, the Teachers’ Union said: Smotrich’s preference to prevent a joint meeting with Education Minister Yoav Kish to resolve the teachers’ problems shows disrespect and violates the decision of an Israeli domestic court.
According to Ma’ariv, recently, Israeli kindergarten teachers and instructors once again noticed a reduction in their April (Frudin) salaries under the pretext of financing the Gaza war and sought to strike to assert their rights. This reduction in salaries was made without prior notice to them.
In this regard, Yaffa Ben-David, Secretary-General of the Teachers’ Union, said: The Finance Ministry is acting arrogantly and immorally towards the teaching community. He added: Smotrich prefers to violate his obligations by evading responsibility. Ben-David warned: “This will harm not only the teaching staff, but the entire education system, which is in a very serious crisis.”