Students will be required to memorise Nation-State law in civics exam

Published: 29 October 2019

Last updated: 4 March 2024

While emphasis on controversial law is fast-tracked, the concept of a multicultural state, which appears in the curriculum, will not be studied for the next two years

A FEW DAYS BEFORE the start of the school year the Education Ministry published a new civics teacher’s guide, which deals, among other things with the separation between the rule of law and human rights. Another new teacher’s guide deals with the nation-state law.

A few days after it was published, the ministry official in charge of civics studies informed teachers that all students taking the matriculation exam in civics this summer will be tested on their knowledge of the details of three clauses in the nation-state law.

And while the students must learn those clauses by heart, they are not required to study the controversy surrounding the law.

According to another ministry announcement, the concept of a multicultural state, which appears in the curriculum, will not be studied for the next two years.

FULL STORY Israel's civics exam to require students to memorise controversial Nation-State law (Haaretz)

EDITORIAL: The anti-democratic teacher’s guide (Haaretz)

Photo: A matriculation exam in civics in Jerusalem, 2019 (Emil Salman)