Ethiopian Kids Blocked From School, Government Sued

Three weeks into the school year, 70 students of Ethiopian origin from the shuttered Nir Etzion school in Petah Tikva are still at home, despite the city's assertion that all of the children have been assigned to other schools. The High Court of Justice is scheduled to hear a petition this morning against Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, his ministry and the city. Nir Etzion was branded an Ethiopian ghetto by Sa'ar because over 90% of its students were of Ethiopian origin.

Ethiopian grade school students, Petah Tikva

Advocacy group taking Sa'ar to court over 'Ethiopian ghetto'
High Court to hear petition against Education Minister today.
By Talila Nesher • Ha’aretz

Three weeks into the school year, 70 students of Ethiopian origin from the shuttered Nir Etzion school are still at home, despite the municipality's assertion that all of the children have been assigned to other institutions. The High Court of Justice is scheduled to hear a petition this morning against Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, his ministry and the city of Petah Tikva.

The petition was filed by Tebeka, a legal advocacy organization for Ethiopian Israelis.

Nearly all of the students at the Nir Etzion school were children of Ethiopian immigrants. The school was closed abruptly at the start of the school year as part of a ministry decision to integrate children of Ethiopian descent more fully into Israeli society. But many schools in the city have balked at admitting the children, citing academic compatibility issues.

Tebeka wants the High Court to order the placement of all Nir Etzion students in mixed classrooms. The nongovernmental organization is also demanding sanctions against schools that refuse to admit the children - or that discriminate against them in any way - including the withdrawal of state funds and even closure of noncompliant institutions.

"The poor decision to close the school, on the grounds that it was the parents who created this situation, and the timing [of the closure] are unacceptable," said attorney Yasmin Keshet, who is representing Tebeka in the petition.

"There was deliberate tracking [of the students] for years that led to an 'Ethiopian ghetto' situation," Keshet said.

"If the solution now lies in schools outside the city that are so good, then why bus only Ethiopians to them? All the authorities turn a blind eye to the fact that only 19 students were placed in four private schools in Petah Tikva - in other words, fewer than five in each institution. They prefer sending the children outside the city in order to avoid a confrontation with the private schools," she said.

According to Keshet, city officials claim that leaders of the Ethiopian community are not fulfilling promises they made during negotiations over school placement, and failed to translate the city's position into Amharic for parents whose Hebrew is weak.

"They have the chutzpah to go to the activists and complain that they didn't agree to translate for the representatives of the municipality," Keshet said. "Their chutzpah has no limits. If the municipality wants to communicate with the parents, it should hire an interpreter."

Sa'ar also ordered the closure of the state religious school Rashbi in Be'er Yaakov, almost all of whose students are of Ethiopian origin. The local council did not implement the directive, on the ground that it was following the wishes of the parents. Rashbi students report to the school every day, even though the Education Ministry did not assign any teachers to the first- and second-grade classes. For the first week of school, children were placed with a teacher's aide; for the past two weeks they were taught by teachers who are not Education Ministry employees and who were hired by the local council.

"This is additional proof that the ministry's action was solely for the purpose of appearances," said Efrat Yerday of the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews. "It's cosmetic in nature, and at the end of the day, these children are not receiving adequate care and are not under the ministry's responsibility."

"Private" school means a school within a haredi school network which receives all or the vast majority of its funding from the government.

Among the private schools refusing to take Ethiopian students is a Chabad school, which has no Ethiopian students and which is refusing to take any at all.

Most of the other schools have a small number of Ethiopian students but are refusing to take any more.

To deal with this problem, the government would need to impose sanctions on the schools refusing to take Ethiopian students.

Most of the other schools can get around this by taking three or four more Ethiopian students.

But Chabad can't.

Why?

Because the Rebbe told the former head of that Chabad school system never to take any Ethiopian Jews in their schools no matter what – even if the Ethiopian's had full Orthodox or haredi conversions.

I know this because the former head of those Chabad schools told me this in 1993. In 1994 he turned down $1 million from a donor whose condition for donating was that the Chabad schools take one Ethiopian kid – even a kid with a full haredi conversion qualified. The offer was rejected. When I was told, I offered to get an Ethiopian child with a full haredi conversion to enroll in one of the Chabad schools in that system, thinking the problem was finding a child with an acceptable conversion. The head of the schools system refused the offer because, he said, the Rebbe told him never to take an Ethiopian as a student in his schools.

So Chabad in Petah Tikva has no way out, meaning the school would most likely be defunded, and other sanctions would be imposed, as well.

That would upset Chabad, which is a vital member of the political right whose votes the right desperately needs in any election.

Sa'ar can't let that happen.

Hence the busing, the stalling and the lies.

I should also add that Chabad's refusal to take any Ethiopian students in its Petah Tikva school was reported in the Israeli press last week, but it has not been reported in America or Canada – except here on FailedMessiah.com.

The JTA ignored the story. So did The Jewish Week and the Forward.

And now Ha'aretz, whose longtime education writer is not covering this story, ignores it as well – even though Chabad's school is the worst offender of all.

Chabad puts a lot of time, energy and money into public relations and damage control.

And in this non-coverage of this story you see an example of Chabad's success, and an example of the failures that success engenders.

Comments

[p]

Just love the segue into Chabad!

[Hannah @A Mother in Israel]

Ynet reported that the principal of the Chabad school was called to a hearing by Shoshani at the ed min, after which she agreed to take the girls.

Here's a better link. http://ow.ly/6AvyF

My friend's daughter studies there and there is one Ethiopian girl in her class and a few others in the school.

You can delete the comment above with the long URL.

[Adam Neira]

To Shmarya,

"the Rebbe told him never to take an Ethiopian as a student in his schools."

Is that true ?

[Ron]

If you believe in anything Jewish, you must accept the fact, that there are people, including children, that are of less value than others.

Hence, the term "The Chosen People".

God only wants a certain people to celebrate His day of rest.

That's why, the others (even the kid next door) are called, Sheigets & Shiksa; and do not have a Neshomo, and will wind up being the Jews' servants when Moshiach comes.

[Adam Neira]

To Ron,

Your view of the true role of the Jewish people is wrong.

[Ron]

That is why, when, Reb Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld saw a person who dropped money on the street, he did not return it, because the victim was not a Jew. Listen to this story told by Rabbi Reisman three weeks ago on his Parsha Shiur.

[Yehuda_ben_Yehoshua]

I guess adam and eve are not chosen.....neither is Abraham Isaac or Jacob...only the children of jacob and their posterity...according to ron. Which ever god you serve im glad i dont know him or serve him, who wants a god that cares only about a chosen few and to hell with others....no wonder judaism has become a waste of a religion.....most of its adherents have a sick mindset....

[Yehuda_ben_Yehoshua]

I guess adam and eve are not chosen.....neither is Abraham Isaac or Jacob...only the children of jacob and their posterity...according to ron. Which ever god you serve im glad i dont know him or serve him, who wants a god that cares only about a chosen few and to hell with others....no wonder judaism has become a waste of a religion.....most of its adherents have a sick mindset....

[Racytorah]

G-d chose the Jews because the Jews chose G-d. Abraham was the only one in his generation to look for the truth. Everyone else was busy with idols and sex. The same thing happened by MT. Sinai and is happening today as we speak. Nobody wants the Torah and it's commandments. Everyone just wants to have fun. "I just wanna have fun", "girls just wanna have fun". Until you die from alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

[danny]

"Until you die from alcohol, drugs, and suicide."

How dramatic! Is that the fate of all non-believers?

[Korbendallas72]

Like Moses on Sinai was the Vilna Gaon right.

[SkepticalYid]

Moses also wore a shtreimel, white shirt and black polyester pants.

[Racytorah]

To danny, whoever makes fun of the words of the rabbis, he sits in a pot of boiling sh... in the next world. (Gitin 57a) If you don't like this too bad!

[anuran]

Racytorah, your god has the manners and morals of a spoiled sociopathic child. He doesn't deserve the worship of decent people.

[Racytorah]

anuran I got the 2 girls and the dog for you. If you need anything else let me know.

[anuran]

Racytorah, I've got a dog, and one girl is enough for me, thanks for asking. Besides, I wouldn't want your sloppy seconds. I've had hepatitis shots, but I'm a little afraid of what else I might pick up from you. Rabies? Parrot fever? Parvo? Venereal anthrax?

[ah-pee-chorus]

Abraham was the only one in his generation to look for the truth. Posted by: Racytorah

you missed the lessons from the abraham fable.

1. its OK to challenge and question the religious dogma youve been fed. avraham (avram) did.
2. its even OK to reject those teachings which came from your father and all those around you. avraham (avram) did.

3. its admirable to demand proof that the idols and gods being worshipped are legitimate. in fact you may even conduct tests to see if these gods exist and have any power to act on earth. avraham did.

4. just as avraham realized that his fathers gods were just creations of man, and therefore subtracted from the prior accepted total, i.e. from hundreds of gods down to one, so too it is praiseworthy to continue avrams work and subtract from the current jewish belief in one god.
the move from hundreds of gods to one was the hard part. recognizing that theres no evidence for even a single god is the easy part.
THAT is the moral of the story. have fun with it, share with your kids and rebbeim. you dont even have to credit me....... youre welcome.

[Racytorah]

No evidence of G-d? How come it's impossible to get rid of the tiny Jew? after 3,000 years of torture and persecution the tiny Jew is always there just like the sun is always there. The Jew is always IN YOUR FACE to prove that G-d is the boos. DAMM!

[Racytorah]

"All I wanna do is have some fun. I got a feeling i'm not the only one". Is this the voice of a thinker who wonders who made this world? Or is it "let's get rid of G-d so we can have fun all day? You see ahpeekaka, it's all about fun.

[Dassi]

I believe in the god of mosquitoes and mice.

[Dassi]

I believe in the god of mosquitoes and mice.

[Adam Neira]

To Racytorah,

Good comments !

[ruthie]

1. do you have any idea how many people hate us? most of it believe it or not is hidden. i have a friend who was thinking of marrying a jewish woman....he couldn't believe the things he heard.
and this is all from very educated, big and important people scary.
so let's get a grip here.
2. AFTER ALL THE JEWS HAVE BEEN THRU, WHY SHOULD WE TREAT PEOPLE LIKE THIS?
3. these are CHILDREN people. children.