Translation:
Regarding the Haredim and the attempt to force upon them the Core Curriculum, I am completely on the side of the Haredim.
The responsibility to educate is upon the parents, not the State. The State will decide to whom it will give a graduation certificate, and he who chooses to forgo that, that is his right.
Tomorrow Porush will be the Prime Minister and will force you to learn a page of Gemara as part of the Core Curriculum - what will you say? He thinks it is more important than English (and between us, I also think so).
If he will try to prevent you from receiving budgets if you do not learn Gemara, I will come out against him. But if he says that without Gemara there will be no graduation certificate, that will be his full democratic right.
I do not want, and it is prohibited for me, to tell Ahmed Tibi what to teach his son, or Litzman, or Dov Chenin.
Obviously personally I think that these studies are important - and in general all education is important and also that a person is obligated to teach his children a trade - meaning, refraining from teaching the Core Curriculum is according to me approaching an actual halachic transgression. But it does not matter what I think, it depends what each parent thinks. They are not criminals, and they are allowed to think differently from me and from the Minister of Education..
And please don't confuse everybody with "fine, they won't learn but they also won't get the budgets". The State is not doing anybody a favor/ The money it gives is money that first it takes. Meaning, when the State gives out money, it is really returning the money. So, if they say the State will now not take taxes from the Haredim or form other groups - than there will be a place for this type of totalitarian statement. But to take and not give, to take (forcibly) form one side - and to condition the exchange with the adoption of your worldview - that is already deterioration to the most dangerous totalitarianism. A real thought police. That reminds of the thug that robbed my friend of his jacket on the subway in new York (in -20 degree weather) and then asked for $5 to get it back.
------------------------------------------------------ Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel ------------------------------------------------------
