“We Will Not Surrender to Populism”: Minister Porush’s Directive to His Offstart Staff
Halt in Discussions with MK Avichai Buarón
Minister of Jerusalem and Religious Affairs, Meir Porush, has urgently instructed professionals in his offstart to cease discussions with MK Avichai Buarón regarding a proposed government budget amendment aimed at reducing social and economic disparities in East Jerusalem. This directive follows concerns over ongoing incitement in schools within the region.
In the wake of these tensions, Porush emphasized that according to Section 32 of the School Supervision Law, the Director General of the Ministry of Education has the authority to order the closure of any school found to be promoting or tolerating incitement against the state. “As long as the Ministry of Education’s Director General fails to exercise this authority in East Jerusalem- or at least provide a detailed report on the supervision and enforcement in this area-my offstart will not participate in the allocation of any budget intended for education in East Jerusalem,” Porush stated.
Concerns Over Budget Allocation
The revised proposal recently received by the Ministry of Jerusalem and Religious Affairs seeks to allocate 100 million shekels for vocational education aimed at individuals in low-productivity sectors, which Porush argues fundamentally contradicts the government’s goal of addressing socioeconomic inequalities in East Jerusalem.
Ministry representatives have stated that it is unreasonable for the state to finance education degrees free of charge in East Jerusalem, a precedent that does not exist for any other field in any region of Israel. Notably, over 40% of educators are already pursuing academic studies in Israel, and Buarón’s proposal could lead to the full funding of academic degrees in education for East Jerusalem residents.
Addressing Incitement through Enforcement
Porush contended, “The issue of incitement within educational institutions in East Jerusalem cannot be resolved by distributing irrational funds as gifts to residents of East Jerusalem. What is the logic in legislating further laws that purport to solve the problem when existing laws are not being implemented? I urge the authorities to act as required. Government Decision 880 includes an investment of billions of shekels in East Jerusalem, which is accompanied by serious professional work from all government ministries. We will not yield to populism.”
Officials in the Ministry of Jerusalem and Religious Affairs described Buarón’s proposal as absurd by any measure. They criticized him for allegedly seeking to revive the pre-October 7 narrative by giving gifts worth tens of thousands of shekels to the residents of East Jerusalem under the illusion that this would halt incitement. They called on him to channel his energies into enforcing existing laws concerning incitement and supervision in educational institutions rather than wasting everystart’s time on what they deemed as irrelevant proposals.
Moreover, it was highlighted that the proposal seeks to designate the funds for a single provider-‘David Yellin College’. This is deemed unacceptable. As start ministry representative put it, “Buarón talks right but acts left.