School boycott in Sakhnin
Parents and teachers association in Arab village take step to combat local violence after parent physically assaults middle school teacher
The parents association in the Arab town of Sakhnin, in northern Israel, announced that it was heading a boycott of all local schools on Saturday, after a middle-school teacher was physically assaulted by two parents on Thursday.
The boycott, which went into effect on Saturday, is an effort to "kick off a struggle against violence in our society," said the association's chairman, Adel Abed.
On Thursday, the father and uncles of an eighth-grade student at the al-Halan Middle School arrived on the grounds after the student told them a teacher had slapped him in the face. In response to the alleged incident, they scratched and bit the teacher, later fleeing the scene. The teacher was hospitalized.
"We know there have been other incidents," Abed told Ynet. "But this incident was reported to (the parents association) and the education system and therefore, we decided not to remain silent."
Already on Thursday, local teachers met and expressed a feeling of fear. "This is an appalling incident. We feel threatened and scared," said the head of the Sakhnin teachers association, Tahar Abu Riyah. "As he was attacked, so can we all be."
At a Saturday meeting, members of both associations decided that they would request that the municipality create a joint committee – comprised of teachers, parents, and representatives of the Ministry of Education – who would consolidate a working plan for the fight against violence in the schools.
While the principles of the fight against violence are well accepted, not everyone agrees with the boycott. "We look upon this incident severely, and steps need to be taken (to address the problem), but I don't think that boycotting the system is the correct step," said Nabia Abu-Salah, who heads the town's education department.
"This is the easiest step to take – and the least educational one. We must have educational activities to reduce this type of phenomenon," he said.
