The discussion centered on what they expect the new incoming government to change, with requiring schools to study/teach the core curriculum in order to qualify for funding. The law was quoted, explaining the process, and the new Minister of Education has a certain amount of time to formulate and pass the guidelines of what will be included as part of the required content of education that schools must minimally teach.
As an aside, and this was not mentioned in the interview, but with a religious man (Rav Shay Piron) holding the Ministry of Education portfolio, and with him coming from a party that even though "not religious", it talks about Jewish values and increasing Jewish education, I would hope that part of the core curriculum he will formulate will include a certain amount of Jewish studies, including Torah and Jewish History. After all, the core curriculum is the same minimal requirements for all the secular schools in the country as it is for the religious schools.
Back to the main point, the interviewer asked MK Mozes saying that it is very possible that nothing problematic will be included in the core curriculum, and what would be so bad if we had to teach a little bit more math, a little bit more dikduk (grammar), some English or whatnot.
The answer supplied by MK Mozes was not anything to the tune of secular studies are not necessary, nor was it anything even close to secular studies taking away from Torah study time, or anything like the secular studies might pull students away and pique interest in things not related to yiddishkeit.
The response given by MK Mozes was, and I have heard similar responses in the past given regarding other issues though none quite as succinctly as that given today by Mozes, שלא יכתיבו לנו. They cannot tell us what to do. We do not listen to secular authorities. We do not want our children being educated in a curriculum dictated by secular authorities.
And that is really the crux of the entire conflict between secular Israel and the haredi community, whether it is in regard to education of secular studies or army service or other things. It does not matter if the education is good or bad. It does not matter if the civil service is good or bad. What can be so bad about a local haredi 20 year old man volunteering his time in a haredi organization like Ezrat Achim or Ezra l'Marpeh? What can be so bad about some basic math and grammar? What can be so bad about an 18 year old who is not learning in yeshiva anyway going to a haredi-designed unit in the army? Nothing really, but we don't want them telling us what to do.
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