27 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Israeli Deputy Minister of Education, Avi Maoz, from the ultra-orthodox Noam party, announced his resignation on Monday, alleging the lack of progress towards the creation of the National Jewish Identity Authority, a body contemplated in the coalition agreement and that he himself had to lead.
“I am stunned because I have discovered that there is no serious intention to comply with the coalition agreement regarding the National Jewish Identity Authority,” Maoz explained in his resignation letter addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and picked up by the Israeli press.
Moaz will continue to be a deputy, thus implying that the majority that supports the Netanyahu government will not be affected by his decision to resign.
The appointment of Moaz as responsible for the programming of extracurricular activities in educational centers was highly criticized both by the opposition and by civil society organizations, since his party is openly homophobic. This formation, created in 2019, has among its objectives to advance policies against the rights of the LGTBI community that, according to what they say, “pervert families and the entire society.”
“For generations the people of Israel have known how to protect what is most dear to them: our identity as a Jewish people, protecting the sanctity of the people of Israel and admiration for the high values of the family,” Maoz stressed in his letter.
“I was happy to be part of the government based on the coalition agreement (…) to cancel the measures of the ministries of Education, Welfare and Health from the time of the Lapid government that sought to change our fundamental concepts as the people of Israel and Jewish family”, he stressed.
He has also cited as reasons for his resignation that the mixed prayer at the Wailing Wall has not been abolished and that the terms “mother” and “father” have not been restored in official forms, instead of the current “parent 1 ” and “parent 2”.
