Education Minister Yoav Kisch ordered the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum to be summoned for a hearing before it was removed from the LPN system for external programs in the Ministry of Education, in which its members transmit their content in educational institutions.
The reason for the hearing is the Forum's failure to meet the threshold conditions recently introduced by Minister Kish, according to which contracting with providers of external educational programs, whose educational responses involve "degradation and humiliation of the IDF, IDF soldiers, fallen IDF soldiers and victims of hostilities," according to the clause.
The arguments raised in the hearing against the Forum, which is also a partner in organizing the Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day, are that the organization compares IDF fallen soldiers and victims of hostilities to terrorists killed, under the heading "bereaved families on both sides."
Does the Forum degrade IDF fallen? Archive, the subjects have no connection to the article, photo: Coco
The summons to the hearing also mentions quotes from the forum, one of which is taken from a letter from B'Tselem, which states: "One of the members of the forum is Kamal, who commanded the suicide bombing attacks and was responsible for a serious attack in Netanya on March 9, 2002, which killed three Israelis and wounded 50 others."
Another quote cited in the summons to the hearing is that of the director of the Families Forum, Rami Elhanan, who said in an interview with the Mida website in April 2018: "I don't see a difference between a pilot who drops a bomb in Gaza and the terrorist who killed my daughter."
Minister Kish: The Ministry of Education under my leadership will not allow harm to the IDF, degradation of IDF soldiers and harm to victims of hostilities – in any educational institution."
Minister Kish said in response: "When I took office, I examined the LPN tender, which allows various programs to provide services to educational institutions. After an in-depth examination of the subject, I discovered that previous tenders approved the participation of programs led by organizations that are inconsistent with the values led by the Ministry of Education.
"Accordingly, the ministry added a criterion that would prevent the participation of organizations that enable harm to the IDF, degradation of IDF soldiers and harm to victims of hostilities. The new tender was amended and a clear and unambiguous clause was added on the subject. The Education Ministry, under my leadership, will not allow harm to security forces and activity of this kind in any educational institution."
Bereaved Families Forum, Archive, Photo: Coco
"No comparison"
In a stormy discussion held yesterday (Monday) in the Knesset Education Committee, it emerged that the Forum is renting out the Ben Shemen Youth Village for the organization's summer camp. MKs from the Likud and the coalition threatened to revoke government funding from the educational institution if they agreed.
The Families Forum rejects these claims made against them from the right, and a position page presented yesterday in the Knesset debate stated: "The members of the Forum categorically reject the path of terrorism. Even if some of them were arrested in their youth for engaging in violent acts, all of them have abandoned these paths and they oppose all expressions of terrorism and violence."
Regarding the comparison between IDF fallen soldiers and terrorists, it said: "There is no comparison between IDF soldiers and terrorists. The organization claims that the pain of families who lose loved ones to the conflict is a terrible pain that has no cure, regardless of the circumstances of their death."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us