An Arabic teacher at an elementary school in the town of Ganei Tikva has been suspended after participating in a Nakba Day march, following complaints from parents and activists.
Shay Glick, CEO of the conservative human rights group Btsalmo, sent a letter to Education Minister Yoav Kisch demanding the dismissal of a teacher. In the letter, Glick cited numerous complaints from parents and students regarding the teacher's participation in what he termed an "incitement event mourning the establishment of the state."
"A teacher is not a robot but an educator of values. Undoubtedly, this teacher undermines the fundamental values of the State of Israel as a Jewish state, severely offends the memory of those who fell in the establishment of the state, and all Israeli citizens," he argued.
"This is a march in which Palestinian flags, which are terrorist flags in every way that matters, are flown. There is no place for this teacher in our education system; she is welcome to move to Gaza.
"We must emphasize that the law clearly states a teacher should be an educational figure. Someone who waves a terrorist flag is perhaps an educational figure in Gaza, but not here."
The Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the displacement of roughly 700,000 Palestinians that occurred during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Many Israelis view the Nakba as an inevitable outcome of the Arab states' refusal to accept the 1947 UN partition plan and their subsequent invasion of the nascent state.
Meanwhile, Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit promoting Palestinian-Israeli coexistence, criticized the teacher's suspension and called for her to be reinstated.
"The establishment of the State of Israel, which is celebrated on Independence Day, was accompanied by a tragedy of the flight, expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their settlements, most of whom remained outside the borders of the state, with a minority becoming internally displaced persons within Israel," a statement read.
"Marking this tragedy is legitimate and important. In a shared society, Jews and Arabs should learn and know the history as seen through the eyes of the other. Abraham Initiatives calls on the Education Ministry to immediately reinstate the teacher who was illegally suspended from her job at the school. At this stage, quick and courageous work is needed to curb the escalation of racism and hatred in the education system - a curriculum for partnership should be urgently integrated in light of the war."
A spokesperson for the Education Ministry's Central District said, "The ministry views the incident very seriously. The teacher's conduct is contrary to the professional ethical standards expected of an educator. At this stage, the teacher will not return to teaching at the school until the completion of the investigation being conducted within the legal framework of the ministry."