The principal of a Jewish religious school in Ra’anana filmed throwing rocks at Arabs in Lod during the severe rioting in that town last week, has prompted a call for his dismissal.
The man was filmed in footage used by Kan television; part of a program on the inter-ethnic unrest that has plagued the country during the past 10 days of conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Students of the Amit Kfar Batya school in Ra’anana who saw the program informed their principal, after which he sent a letter to the school WhatsApp group for parents, Kan reported.
“The reality in which I found myself in was a mistake in judgment and in retrospect I should not, as an educational leader and public figure, have traveled to such a complicated place,” he told parents.
He claimed that he and the other group of Jewish men he was filmed with throwing rocks had been asked by a Jewish family for assistance as it was being attacked by Arab rioters. On their way to the house the Jewish men encountered rioters throwing rocks and petrol bombs, he said. The Education Ministry said that it was investigating the incident.
Meretz chairman MK Nitzan Horowitz called on Education Minister Yoav Gallant to fire the principal.
“A person involved in the education of the next generation and who is supposed to be an example to his pupils cannot take part in violent incidents such as these,” said Horowitz.
He said Gallant should immediately conduct “an in-depth examination of the reasons behind the incident and summon the principal to a hearing pending dismissal,” adding that he was certain that Gallant would “not agree to give the responsibility of educating Israeli children to someone who chose to behave in such a violent manner.”