Senior officials at Israel’s Education Ministry said Sunday that Shi Kalderon, the director of the ministry’s Haredi district, will not be dismissed. The decision followed heavy public pressure after Channel 13 reported that the ministry intended to fire him, and after legal problems emerged in the dismissal process.
Kalderon had been targeted because he led enforcement actions against Haredi education networks that do not teach core subjects. On Thursday, the main evening broadcast reported that political figures had been pushing in recent days to remove him after he ordered action against institutions that refused to add the required curriculum. Several schools were closed for failing to comply with Education Ministry rules and the law, which angered Haredi parties and triggered intense political pressure on senior ministry officials.
Kalderon was called to a hearing, but the ministry’s legal advisers strongly opposed the move and said the dismissal would not stand up in court because he was acting within his professional authority to enforce the law. After the report, he told inspectors and employees in his district: “Contrary to all the rumors and reports, we will continue working together and investing with all our strength for the children of Israel for at least another two years, as stated in my senior contract.”
Former prime minister and Yisrael Beytenu leader Naftali Bennett said the government was punishing those trying to teach Haredi students math and English, “condemning an entire generation of innocent children to lives of poverty.” Meretz MK Naama Lazimi called the effort to fire Kalderon “madness,” while Democratic Union MK Gilad Kariv said his party would demand an urgent debate on Sunday and vowed that in four months there would be a turnaround in the Education Ministry.
