Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has sidestepped Justice Ministry officials in order to provide classroom space to children in Judea and Samaria who were almost left with nowhere to study this fall. Netanyahu has committed to providing temporary structures to several overcrowded schools, while instructing Defense Ministry officials to work for a more permanent solution.
His decision was announced following a meeting with several senior government officials, among them Education Minister Gidon Saar, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman.
Jewish schools in Judea and Samaria that lack classroom space have been unable to expand due to the construction freeze in the region. The freeze was declared several months ago in an attempt to bring the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table, an aim that has yet to materialize.
The Defense Ministry had approved the use of temporary classrooms in Israeli towns with overcrowded schools. However, Justice Ministry officials declined to authorize the solution, arguing in a Sunday morning meeting of the Knesset's Education Committee that children living in towns with overcrowded schools could go study elsewhere.
The officials said they could not allow the temporary structures to be used as it would violate zoning laws.
Their argument angered MKs David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Aryel Eldad (Ichud Leumi – National Union). Rotem called the situation “outrageous,” and warned, “If they don't find a solution, we the Knesset will need to force them to find a solution.”
Eldad accused the Justice Ministry of enforcing planning and zoning laws at the expense of the Mandatory Education Law, which compels the state to educate its minor citizens. “The time has come to rip the masks from their faces,” he said. “This isn't about the rule of law, this is a hostile mob that is hurting Israeli children and the rule of law.”
Eldad stated that his party would allow teachers in Judea and Samaria to use its Knesset offices as classrooms if necessary.