There is great joy at
Haaretz and among its dwindling fanbase. After a long fight which rid us
of former civics studies supervisor Adar Cohen, one of his most vocal
supporters -- Yael Guron -- has been appointed in his place.
As if this itself
weren't enough, after Cohen was kicked out for serious professional
faults -- the leftist indoctrination he sought to instill in civics
studies, his undermining of his superiors -- he is worming his way back
into the Education Ministry via the back door.
He is even putting out
articles defending ministry decisions he once opposed, such as combining
history and civics studies. Recently, Cohen -- along with other members
of Israel's Left Institution for "We'll teach you about democracy" --
was appointed to a committee set up by the ministry to look into the
limits of political debate.
But let's get back to
Cohen's successor, Guron. A few years ago at the Van Leer Education
Conference, she said "Today, there is no official curriculum that
expresses the Palestinians' historical narrative ... creating a
situation in which a Palestinian pupil can't identify with the material
being taught."
Most sane people call
the Palestinians Guron mentioned "Israeli Arabs." What historical
narrative they should be taught -- the Nakba? [The Palestinian term used
to refer to the founding of the State of Israel.] How the plan failed
to wipe out the Jewish population in 1948?
More than once, Guron
has attacked the Institute for Zionist Strategies as an institution that
talks in terms of "monolithic Zionism" -- a code name for Zionism,
which sees Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and not as a
national base for a number of peoples. Maybe as far she is concerned,
no such "monolithic" perception exists in the Israeli Democracy
Institute. The Left has always been known for its one-way pluralism:
they are ready to die for our right to think like them.
In an argument with the
current chairman of the Civics Committee, Professor Asher Cohen, Guron
expressed herself as one who thinks that civics studies should be
devoted mainly to the study of democracy, since the Jewish element of
the State of Israel gets additional time in other subjects. This is the
crux of the debate: civics is the very subject in which the democratic
justification of a state for the Jewish people should feature
prominently. Especially today, in light of attempts to delegitimize us
and present the link between "Jewish state" and "democracy" as a
contradiction, it is very important that high school education address
this issue. And if not in civics, then in what subject?
Here is a quote from a
textbook that Adar Cohen approved (and which was later rejected by a
panel of experts for its numerous factual errors) and that Guron will
probably back: "These two identities (Jewish democracy) often contradict
each other when it comes to minorities." This is the key sentence in
the book, and the study questions reinforce the claim of a
"contradiction" (strong language) that won't be resolved until the
character of the State of Israel changes. Even the Law of Return [which
gives all Jews the right to Israeli citizenship] is presented as "a
clash between civil liberties ... and Israel's purpose as a Jewish
state."
Here's more: "There is
no question that originally, the definition of Judaism is one of
religion only." Other than historical ignorance, how can there be "no
question"? Maybe in the Palestinian National Charter there is no such
question. Article 20 of that platform reads: "Judaism, being a religion,
is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single
nation with an identity of its own."
In an article published
two months ago in the "defeated family" newspaper [Haaretz], Adar Cohen
spoke positively about the new minister of education, saying that yes,
he's an observant Jew and covers his head with a yarmulke, but that
doesn't mean he should be automatically suspected of
"religious-messianic indoctrination." Unbelievable. It was said of
Balaam that from his blessing, one could learn about his original cursed
intentions. It's true that Adar Cohen is a man of the Institute of the
Left and a political appointee of [former Education Minister] Yuli
Tamir, but neither he nor his replacement should be suspected of
"automatic Leftist indoctrination." Really? The appointment of [Guron]
as the new supervisor of civics studies gives good reason for concern.
In the cultural war over national identity, those seeking to dismantle
its Jewish national character have just gotten reinforcements.
My friend, Education
Minister Rabbi Shay Piron, why would you give such great influence to a
minority group that seeks to change the character of Israel? Democracy
is not up for debate, there is no argument about that -- but Zionism and
our identity as a Jewish state is. Can you hear the concern of the
majority of our society?
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