A heated confrontation took place on Monday in the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee, when committee chairman MK Tzvi Sukkot removed MK Samir Ben Said from the hearing after he refused to condemn the October 7 massacre and terrorist attacks.
The discussion focused on educational materials in the Arab education system and allegations of incitement to violence and terrorism. During the session, testimony was heard from a former senior Hamas official who left the organization and spoke with his face covered due to fears for his life.
The witness said that as a child, he was exposed to content that portrayed jihad, battles, and religious struggles as acts of heroism, alongside depictions of Jews and the Jewish state in negative contexts.
According to him, children are not born with hatred but learn it through the systems that educate them, and therefore, educational materials and the messages conveyed through them must be examined.
During the hearing, Sukkot turned to MK Ben Said and demanded that he condemn the murder of the female IDF lookouts by Hamas terrorists, as well as terrorist attacks in general. After Ben Said refused to do so and attempted to shift the discussion toward criticism of the government, Sukkot announced that he would not be given the right to speak and ordered him removed from the room.
Lord Atiya, a Muslim social activist, called on Arab public leaders to show public responsibility.
“Where are the Arab Knesset members? Why are they not dealing with the state of education in society? Businesses are being burned, there is protection racketeering, and we don’t hear them," she said.
MK Meir Cohen of Yesh Atid argued that a fundamental change is needed in oversight of the education system.
“The Education Ministry needs to completely change its relationship with the education system, both in the diaspora communities and in Arab towns. There needs to be much stricter oversight," he said.
Deborah Gonen, the mother of Danny Gonen, who was murdered in a terrorist attack carried out by a terrorist released in the Shalit deal, also participated in the hearing.
“Education begins from age zero, at home and at school. If there is no real desire to uproot the problem from its roots, there is no point in trying to address the problem. Arab Knesset members need to get involved and deal with the issue through cooperation," she said.
Summing up the hearing, Sukkot said: “The testimony we heard today should keep every citizen in Israel awake at night. When children grow up on content that cultivates hostility, denies the existence of the other, and presents the conflict as an eternal war, the result may be another generation drawn into the cycle of violence."
“This is not only an educational failure but a strategic threat to the security of the state," he added. “The State of Israel cannot accept a situation in which messages encouraging extremist views are conveyed in education systems operating under its responsibility. There will be no extraterritorial zone within the State of Israel."