Knesset bill would require all schools to teach Israel is Jewish State

MK Ohayon says Arab citizens of Israel "must realize that their nation has 22 states and Jews only have one."

By LAHAV HARKOV
Back to school Arab family 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Back to school Arab family 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
All schools – even Arab ones – will be required to teach their students that Israel is the Jewish state, MK Shimon Ohayon (Likud Beytenu) said, ahead of Sunday’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation vote on his bill to that effect.
According to Ohayon’s proposal, teaching that “the State of Israel is the Jewish nationstate” will be one of the goals of the education system, listed in the State Education Law.
Ohayon, former deputy chairman of the Bar-Ilan University School of Education, said that “facing attempts to blur the strong and unique connection between the Jewish people and its land, we must clearly say: The State of Israel is the Jewish nation-state.”
“Arabs are citizens of the country with equal rights, but they must realize that their nation has 22 states and Jews have only one,” he added.
One of the purposes of the education system is already to learn the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, the Torah, Jewish history and Jewish tradition.
Other goals listed under the law include to teach children to be loyal citizens, to respect their parents and to love their nation and land, to learn the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and developing pupils’ creativity.