Following the news on the subject, Education Minister Yoav Galant instructed “to prohibit the entry into schools of organizations that work contrary to the purposes of state education or in a manner that degrades IDF soldiers.” “We will not allow organizations that call Israel an apartheid state to lecture to students facing conscription,” he said. In fact, he prevented the seminar from taking place and had it canceled.
The If You Will movement responded: “Education Minister Galant’s decision not to hold a conference tomorrow in which far-left organizations will participate in the real school in Haifa is correct and obvious. It is not clear why they even considered presenting an extremist organization like B’Tselem, which makes a living And encourages international pressure against it.
“The introduction of this despicable organization into the education system should be banned,” they added. “Spreading lies is not legitimate criticism and students should not be educated in the light of such misconduct. This is a victory for common sense.”
Madalah, the legal center for the rights of the Arab minority in Israel, stated: “The Minister of Education has no legal authority to prevent a meeting of human rights organizations with students, just because they have criticized him. The distinction that Israel violates the absolute prohibitions of international law, including the prohibition on separation Racial, does not contradict the goals of state education, difficult as this determination may be.We intend to turn to the Attorney General to order Minister Galant to repeal his directive, which aims only to silence legitimate voices fighting for human rights and justice. The education system and its students, following the corona crisis. “
MK Ofer Kasif (Hadash – Joint List), a member of the Knesset’s Education Committee, also referred to Galant’s directive: “The education general’s order is the best proof of what he is trying to hide. A country that holds millions under military rule and settler pogroms “A country that has enacted the racist nationality law and systematically destroys Arab homes, a country that is forcibly trying to hide its crimes – is an apartheid state in the horrible sense of the word.”