The Education Ministry in Israel is requiring that outside administrators of educational programmes brought into the schools declare that their presentations do not challenge Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state, portray Independence Day as a day of mourning or promote Holocaust denial.
The requirements in the declaration come from a 2011 law that bars government funding for activities that promote such ideas.
The day of mourning is a reference to Nakba Day, which Palestinians observe to mark the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people with the establishment of Israel in the War of Independence.
The terms appeared about two weeks ago in documents issued by the ministry as it seeks bids from a range of educational programmes to be made available to schools next year.
Principals will be able to select programs as part of a plan for educational and administrative flexibility being promoted by Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton.
Program operators that apply must meet a number of requirements, including the making of an additional declaration that their activity “will not include any outside individual whose goal or actions, including their statements, include content in conflict with the goals of the state education system.”
The operators are required to sign a 12-part declaration that also includes a commitment that the activity does not encourage violence, incitement, calls to racism or support for anti-Israeli terrorism.
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, filed a court petition Wednesday challenging the requirements, saying they violate the right of Arab organizations to participate on an equal basis.
The Education Ministry said in response that it would not permit groups that deny the memory of the Holocaust or the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
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