Teacher tells students: Blame Netanyahu for hostage deal issues

Civics teacher says that Netanyahu, not Hamas, is at fault for missed opportunities to secure a hostage deal.

By World Israel News Staff

The Education Ministry has opened an investigation into a high school teacher who told her students that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not Hamas, is at fault for the challenges around the completion of the current ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.

In a recording made by a student in the classroom, which was leaked to Channel 14 News, the civics teacher from the central city of Ra’anana – whose name has not been publicly revealed – is heard telling students that they are mistaken if they believe Netanyahu is prioritizing freeing the hostages.

When a student said that Netanyahu is attempting to bring back the hostages, the teacher is heard saying, “Is he really trying?”

After the student pushed back and said that the premier is trying to secure the captives’ freedom, the teacher replied that “according to everything we know, he’s not trying.”

The teacher added that “as of right now, there was no deal that [Netanyahu] didn’t blow up.”

Numerous students responded by telling the teacher that it was Hamas, not Netanyahu, who had sabotaged opportunities for a deal.

“You all really believe that it was Hamas?” the teacher is heard asking incredulously, implying that they were naive for believing that the terror group is less trustworthy than the prime minister.

In additional recordings, the teacher can be heard falsely claiming that Communications Minister Shloma Karai had called for the murder of Attorney Gali Baharav Miara.

While Karai has been critical of Barharav Miara, he has never called for her killing.

“As stated, this is an extremely serious incident. Injecting political propaganda and fostering social divisions in the classroom directly contradicts the ministry’s values, procedures, and the minister’s directives,” the Education Ministry said in a media statement.

“It is important to note that the teacher denies the allegations, and we have not yet received the recordings documenting the incident. The matter will be thoroughly investigated and addressed significantly, based on the findings.”

Several hours later, Education Minister Yoav Kisch made an additional comment to Channel 14 News after listening to the recordings.

“I was shocked by the teacher’s remarks,” Kisch said, promising the outlet that his ministry is handling the incident with the utmost seriousness.

“The days of spreading hatred and division under the auspices of the education system are over,” he added.