A heated scene unfolded Monday in the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee during a session on incitement in the Arab education system. Committee chair MK Zvi Sukkot demanded that MK Samir Ben Said condemn the killing of the observation soldiers and terror attacks, and when Ben Said refused, Sukkot ordered him removed from the meeting.
The discussion focused on allegations that learning materials in Arab schools promote violence and terrorism. A former senior Hamas member, who left the organization and spoke with his face covered out of fear for his life, testified that as a child he was exposed to content presenting jihad, battles and religious struggles as heroic acts, while Jews and the Jewish state were portrayed negatively. He said children are not born hating, but learn hatred through the systems that educate them, and urged scrutiny of textbooks and the messages they convey.
During the exchange, Sukkot pressed Ben Said to denounce both the killing of the observation soldiers by Hamas militants and terror attacks in general. Ben Said tried to shift the discussion toward criticism of the government, but Sukkot said he would not be given the floor and had him escorted out of the room.
Several others also spoke. Social activist Lord Attiya called on Arab public leaders to take responsibility, asking why Arab MKs are not dealing with the state of education in their community and saying there are businesses being burned and extortion cases, yet little is heard from them. MK Meir Cohen of Yesh Atid said the Education Ministry must fundamentally change its oversight of the education system in the Arab sector and the Bedouin diaspora, with much stricter supervision. Dvora Gonen, mother of Danny Gonen, who was killed in a terror attack carried out by a prisoner released in the Gilad Shalit deal, said education starts from birth at home and in school, and urged Arab MKs to join efforts to address the problem.
In closing, Sukkot said the testimony should “keep every citizen in Israel awake at night,” warning that children raised on content that fosters hatred and denies others’ existence could become another generation trapped in violence. He described the issue not only as an educational failure but as a strategic threat to state security, adding that Israel cannot accept “extra-territory” within its borders where extremist messages are taught.
