In recent months, it has been hard to keep up with the recurring reports on changes in the Israeli education system. It began last June with a decision by Education Minister Naftali Bennett to remove the play “A Parallel Time,” performed by the Haifa Al-Midan Theater, from the “culture basket,” the list of performances made available to schoolchildren, because it is based, so he explained, on the story of a Palestinian terrorist. His decision ran contrary to the opinion of a committee of professionals that determined that the play should go into the basket, as it did not encourage terrorism. Later, Dorit Rabinyan’s novel “Borderlife” was excluded from the advanced literature curriculum of high schools on the grounds that it encourages assimilation. What's more, the ministry ordered a freeze on funding of bodies teaching pluralistic Judaism in schools. In addition, teachers claim that the list of concepts each student of civics is required to master has been updated, with a clear preference for concepts emphasizing Jewish nationalism over those highlighting the state's democratic character.

On Feb. 17, Education Ministry officials were reportedly quoted as contending that Bennett intended to appoint a new committee on civic studies consisting for the most part of right-wingers. This follows the public uproar sparked earlier this year over the ministry’s biased revision of the high school civics textbook. While the current version has been under revision for several years now, debate on the issue becomes increasingly heated each time a new minister is appointed.

Or Kashti, education analyst for the daily Haaretz, points out that although all recent education ministers have attempted to impose their political ideas, the trend has lately become especially intensive. Kashti told Al-Monitor, “True, the religious aspect was given prominence during the days in office of former ministers Limor Livnat and Gideon Saar, as well; however, it was not done in such a coercive manner then. We have a minister here who really emphasizes national and nationalist aspects and who is really a missionary.”

On the other hand, Yoram Harpaz, a professor of education, is not as alarmed. “Ben-Zion Dinur, the education minister in 1951, was acting to foster Jewish identity, and his successors in office followed suit. However, it was no cause for public concern as the political left was standing on solid ground at the time. What's different today is the context. The political right is currently very strong, and we see processes of 'religionization' taking place in numerous areas. No wonder then that those who oppose these concepts are in a panic.” For those people, Harpaz has a reassuring message: “School plays but a minor role in children's education. Its impact on shaping them probably accounts for a mere 5%. All other agents are much more significant: home, family, the environment, TV and recreational activities.”