Bennett Did Not Initiate, Opposed Nahal Tzafit Disaster Probe
Translated & summarized from Globes by baba
A fact-check found that former Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett did not initiate the investigation committee for the 2018 Nahal Tzafit disaster and initially opposed its formation. Bennett claimed otherwise at a recent rally, but his testimony to the committee in 2022 revealed he "did not think the current committee needed to be established" initially. He later admitted his initial opposition and change of mind. The governmental committee was established in late 2020, long after Bennett left his ministerial post.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Naftali Bennett did not initiate the Nahal Tzafit disaster investigation committee and initially opposed it.
- Bennett claimed he initiated the committee at a recent election rally.
- The Nahal Tzafit disaster in April 2018 killed 10 students from the Bnei Zion academy.
- Bennett served as Minister of Education when the disaster occurred.
- Bennett testified in August 2022 that he initially opposed the committee's establishment.
A recent fact-check has determined that former Minister of Education Naftali Bennett did not initiate the government investigation committee established following the 2018 Nahal Tzafit disaster, and in fact, initially opposed its formation. The claim that Bennett initiated the committee was made by Bennett himself during a recent election rally, in response to criticism from a bereaved mother whose daughter died in the disaster.
The Nahal Tzafit disaster occurred in April 2018 when a flash flood swept away a group of students from the pre-military "Bnei Zion" academy, resulting in the deaths of 10 participants. In the aftermath, the Ministry of Education formed an inter-ministerial committee, but its members failed to reach a consensus. Following a Knesset Education Committee discussion in November 2018, a demand was made for an independent and neutral investigative committee.
Bennett's term as Minister of Education concluded in June 2019, nearly a year and a half before a governmental investigation committee was ultimately decided upon in November 2020 and approved in February 2021. Evidence presented during Bennett's testimony to the committee in August 2022 shows him stating, "From the outset, I did not think the current committee needed to be established." He later acknowledged a change of heart, saying, "I think it's good that the committee was established, contrary to what I originally thought."
During his testimony, Bennett was confronted by the lawyer representing nine victim families, who presented evidence that in December 2018, he had expressed opposition to a committee headed by a judge, suggesting the Ministry of Education knew what needed to be done. Bennett did not deny this, detailing the conclusions of a team he had previously established. The article distinguishes between the initial inter-ministerial committee, headed by the Ministry of Education's Director-General, and the later governmental investigation committee, which had the powers of a state commission of inquiry and operated for approximately two years.
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