WATCH: Violence strikes a special education school in Ashdod

Violence among students is a growing in problem in the Israeli school system

By NAAMA OZERI/MAARIV

JANUARY 9, 2018 11:22

Updated: JANUARY 9, 2018 11:29

Violence at an Israeli school

Parents and students at this school in Ashdod describe a harsh reality of violence that exists within the school's walls and outside of them. This is a special education school that belongs to one of the regular schools in the city. Students who aren't able to find their place in the integrated classrooms at the regular school are referred to this special education school.

Parents report that the number of students at the school (where the violent incident occurred) is small, therefore students of different ages - sometimes even two-year age differences- often study in the same classroom.

Parents we spoke to described harsh incidences of violence among the students: a recent stabbing, a student who burned another student by placing a scorching screw on his skin, and, of course, the beatings shown in the video, in which staff members were sitting in an adjacent room and could hear everything that was going on. The violence was then directed to the staff members themselves when a student threw a brick at them.

Parents report that the school lacks the most basic tools to deal with these problems: there is no school social worker, no corrective teachers, and there are even teachers who give false reports about students' attendance in class.

"It feels like everything is being swept under the rug. They're denying part of what's going on, and have no personalized study plan that is approved for educational institutions of this kind. The teachers and the administrative staff are aware of the problems, but they're trying to hide them, and when parents turn to them they respond that the issues are being taken care of," several parents whose children attend the school told Maariv.

The school principal refused to comment, claiming that the Ministry of Education instructed him not to do so.

The Ministry of Education only commented that the matter is being dealt with.

Translated by Tamar Ben-Ozer