MK Avi Maoz (Knesset website)
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to appoint right-wing member of the Knesset (MK) Avi Maoz as the new deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office in charge of a “Jewish identity unit” with the power to control what is taught in Israel’s schools, specifically over materials that the religious right in Israel deem to be immoral.
Avi Moaz is a religious politician and the leader of the right-wing Noam party. He is that party’s sole Knesset member, as he ran on a joint list of the right-wing Religious Zionism Party.
If this sounds familiar, it should. The same thing is going on right now all over America where right-wing politicians have been purging schools of any course materials that attempt to teach tolerance of LGBTQ people. And some governors have even gone so far as to personally interceded to censor what is taught in that state run public universities.
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MK Avi Maoz is expected to make similar moves in Israel regarding LGBTQ issues in the country’s schools. He would have the authority to make moves without the need for any approval from Israel’s Minister of Education Yoav Kisch. And Maoz is also expected to stop any external groups from providing funding or education materials on their own volition to Israeli schools.
In an effort to reassure the public, Minister Kisch stated, “All powers remain in the hands of the Education Ministry alone. It does not harm the authority of the Education Ministry.”
It should be noted that in Israel the government funded public schools are divided into three categories: secular, national religious (basically modern orthodox) and ultra-orthodox schools that are operated outside the authority of Israel’s Ministry of Education. None of the orthodox schools are required to teach subjects that they consider to be outside of their values, including the teaching of equality for LGBTQ people.
The move came as Israel is getting ready for its annual Gay Pride parades across the country.
On this issue, the leader of the opposition in the Knesset and leader of the secular Yesh Atid (there is a future) Party Yair Lapid tweeted, “A few years ago I came to the (LGBTQ) pride parade in Jerusalem and the first thing I saw was [leader of the right-wing Otzma Yehudit and current Minister of National Security Itamar] Ben Gvir protesting against them.”
“This year, he (Ben-Gvir) is supposed to secure the parade (in his capacity as the minister in charge of the Israel police) and make sure it passes safely. It’s part of the troll of our lives (Lapid’s way of describing Ben-Gvir) these days, that’s why it’s more important than ever to come to the parade. To empathize, to support, to be with the community on a holiday. I’ll be there of course.”
