Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron confronted Shas MK Yaakov Margi who said “I am accustomed not to speak ill of rabbis. I address them honorably and give them their due respect. It doesn’t matter who the rabbi is, where he is, or his affiliation or organization.”

Rav Piron said “First of all, I am very grateful to MK Margi for his remarks regarding the use of unacceptable language regarding rabbis, especially those who are candidates for senior posts.

“Therefore, I would be pleased if he begins at home with his own deficiencies, his kehilla, and come out strongly in condemnation of those rabbis. I hope you will be able to make the same statement regarding your own rabbis, who use unacceptable language against others.

“Thirty years – this is true. You have been in the coalition for thirty years during which time you established budgets and tend to business in an orderly fashion. You guys invented this method which is dependent on one political manipulation or another – to leave the power in the hands of the politicians.”

Other statements by the minister quoted today by Maariv include, “At times, it appears the education system forgot her dream. We should stop speaking about metrics and tests. The call for optimism in the education system is a mission, not a dream. I expect teachers to show increased ethics and to step up and volunteer more.”

“We will not bother populations wishing to live here in line with their lifestyle. I feel the governments should not waste money on chareidi education. I am determined to eliminate the Nahari Law [for funding for chareidi education] which does not permit maximizing local government’s powers.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)