Investigation at the Ministry of Education: Were public funds transferred to the Teachers' Union unlawfully?

A sharp confrontation between the Ministry of Education and the chairman of the Teachers' Union, Ran Erez: Minister of Education Yoav Kisch announced today (Tuesday) that the Ministry of Education is conducting an investigation following suspicions that public funds were transferred to the Teachers' Union for teachers who were reported as members of the union, even though, according to the suspicion, they were not actually members. According to the minister, if the suspicions turn out to be true, it means that public funds were transferred based on reports that do not reflect reality, and therefore this is a matter that requires a thorough investigation.

These things were stated in a letter that Kisch sent to the teachers who are members of the Teachers' Union, following a letter that the union chairman, Ran Erez, distributed to them. In his letter, the minister claimed that in recent years the mechanism for transferring funds was based on lists that the union transferred to the Ministry of Education, and that following the suspicions, he ordered to examine a fundamental change in the system. According to the plan, the transfer of funds in the future will be carried out through the salary slip of each teacher, in a way that he says will be more transparent, controlled, and accurate. He also noted that the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance is examining the issue and its implications, including the possibility of offsetting funds if it turns out they were transferred unlawfully.

Kisch also referred to the campaigns that, according to him, the chairman of the Teachers' Union conducted against him, and said that millions of shekels from the union's funds were invested in them. According to him:

"No personal campaign, as sharp as it may be, will cause me to close my eyes to the fear of harm to public funds. This is my responsibility as Minister of Education, and I will continue to fulfill it without fear and without extraneous considerations."

In addition, the minister rejected other claims raised by Erez in his letter, including claims regarding the conduct of the education system during the recent confrontation with Iran. Kisch claimed that he opposed the deduction of wages from teachers for not conducting remote learning, and clarified that the directive on the matter came from the Ministry of Finance and not from the Ministry of Education. He also criticized Erez, claiming that he criticizes the use of public funds, while, according to him, he spent millions of shekels of the union's funds on a personal campaign against him.