Minister of Education Yossi Sarid has announced in the
Knesset that he intends to execute a "reform" in the general
school system Jewish studies programs.
"Stashed away in the Ministry's drawer is something called
the Shenhar Reports. This is very important and very
interesting. It was adopted a number of times, and when a
report is adopted a number of times, I know that no one plans
to execute it. It goes into the drawer. Because I did not yet
have the privilege to adopt it, I am about to adopt it. It is
about Judaism: Judaism according to our world view."
In response to a question by MK Nissim Zeev, who asked what
he means by the word "our," Sarid replied: "`Our' refers to
the secular majority in the country which wants to study
Judaism in a humanistic, pluralistic, open manner. 70% of the
students in Israel study in mamlachti (national)
schools, and they will definitely study Judaism. Teachers
will teach Judaism according to their world view from books
suiting their outlook."
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said in response, "The education Yossi
Sarid is talking about went bankrupt. The current violence,
drugs and alienation from values prevalent in the country
should have led Yossi Sarid and his cronies to admit that the
only educational system which does not display these
phenomena but, rather, their opposite, is the authentic
Jewish educational system. They should have admitted and
understood that the study of Judaism and Jewish tradition in
its genuine form should be strengthened, not the opposite.
"The Prime Minister must realize that the vast majority of
Israelis, even those who send their children to
mamlachti schools are traditional, and uninterested in
the kind of education to which Yossi Sarid is referring. The
mamlachti educational system does not belong to the
minority represented by Meretz, and we will not allow this
minority to do as it sees fit with the majority. It has once
more been proven that we were right and that it was forbidden
to allow someone from Meretz to serve as Minster of
Education," Rabbi Gafni said.
