Education Minister Demands MK Apologize or Face Lawsuit Over Budget Claims

Education Minister Yoav Kisch has sent a sharp letter to Knesset Member Meirav Cohen, demanding a public apology for her claims that education budgets were allocated based on political considerations. Cohen alleged that local authority heads were required to demonstrate support for the Likud party to receive funding for their schools, and that budgets were withheld from those who spoke negatively about the Prime Minister, even during wartime.

Kisch vehemently denied these accusations, stating in his letter that political standing or the number of Likud members in a locality never served as a condition for receiving education funding. He asserted that not a single shekel was ever cut from any authority's education budget due to such "foreign considerations."

Cohen made these claims in two separate media interviews earlier this week. She told Channel 13 News that mayors seeking school budgets were asked to show they were bringing supporters to Likud. The following day, she repeated similar allegations in an interview with Army Radio (Galei Tzahal).

In his letter, Kisch called Cohen's statements falsehoods and defamation. He demanded she publicly retract her remarks and apologize. Alternatively, he stated that if she stands by her claims, she should waive her parliamentary immunity so he can sue her in court.

Cohen, in response, posted on social media that the Education Minister has indeed injected significant politics into educational decisions, even during the war, and suggested this contributed to Israel's poor performance in the PISA tests.