Religion Magazine

Firing Haredi Teachers

By Gldmeier @gldmeier
It is always upsetting and troubling when teachers, or employees in any profession, get fired from their jobs for reasons that have nothing to do with their ability to perform their responsibilities, nothing to do with professionalism.
That is true of the Haredi kindergarten teacher in a public school in the Tel Aviv region who was fired for being Haredi (until a Ministry of Education spokesperson backtracked on the reason), and that is also true of the Haredi teacher in the Haredi school system who was fired for learning how to drive (I am not sure if it is relevant that the reason she learned how to drive was to be able to drive her special needs daughter to treatments and that she had permission from her rav to do so).
There are angles to consider:
1. if the Haredi school scan discriminate against non-Haredim and non-religious teachers and refuse to hire them, why can't the non-Haredi schools discriminate in return?
2. If the Haredi schools can discriminate against Haredim and that is allowed to happen, can people really get so upset when non-Haredi schools discriminate against Haredim?
3. Is it wrong for schools, whether Haredi, Secular or Dati Leumi, to want to employ teachers who match the lifestyle ideals the school wishes to impart to the children?
4. or, perhaps the school should show diversity and be open to exposing their students to other types of people and ideas and as long as the teacher is professional and acts professionally, the teacher should be given the platform to teach.
5. or maybe any teacher should be hire-able in any school, as long as the teacher is qualified and professional. I assume schools could have guidelines for teachers - dress codes, topics that should or should not be discussed, etc. and as long as the teacher is willing to follow those guidelines, nothing else besides for professional reasons, should be a valid reason for firing.
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