Student strike continues to its second day
High schoolers in Israel skip class again in light of continuing dispute between the Teachers’ Union and the Education Ministry, which has effectively suspended all student outings.
High school students continued their strike on Wednesday in protest of the ongoing dispute between the Teachers' Union and the Education Ministry, which has effectively suspended all student outings and field trips.
The Teachers’ Union had recently declared itself to be in dispute with the Ministry of Education, claiming the Ministry has been continually ignoring their demands, which mostly concern teachers’ working conditions and the recent school reform.
The teachers’ protest has also impacted the lives of their pupils. “We’re not willing to give up our rights as students,” said the National Student and Youth Council Chairperson Eliav Batito in response to the continuing teachers’ protest. “We are left with no choice other than to carry out another strike day, during which 350,000 high school students will not come to school. We won’t stand idly by while government offices and workers’ unions protest at our expense.”
On Wednesday, Jerusalem Labor Court Judge Ronit Rosenfeld decided not to grant the Ministry of Education’s request for an injunction that would have forced teachers to return to work. She nevertheless stressed that the teachers must not disrupt activities involving the students’ matriculation exams or activities relating to Holocaust Remembrance Day or Independence Day.
Judge Rosenfeld urged the Teachers’ Union to end the protest and begin deliberating with the Ministry, but their representatives refused to do so.
Teachers’ Union Chairperson Ran Erez told Ynet that “this is an important accomplishment for the Teachers’ Union. The judge ruled that the current protest is legal and proportional, and that the issues at hand are substantial ones.” He thanked the Court for “understanding the teachers’ plight, instead of automatically adhering to the request of the State.”
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After initiating the student strike on Tuesday, as well as preventing driving tests from being carried out, the National Student and Youth Council had arranged alternative activities for the protesting students, among them three field trips, made possible with the help of the Society for the Protection of Nature.
