Kfar Saba School Strikes After Student Assaults Teacher and Vice Principal
Classes at a Kfar Saba primary school will be delayed after a student assaulted a teacher and vice principal. The Teachers Union announced a two-hour strike in protest.
Primary school classes in Kfar Saba will start two hours late on Monday following a severe violent incident at the A.D. Gordon Elementary School. According to reports, a student threw a chair at a classmate, injuring her. When the homeroom teacher intervened to stop the violence, the student struck her in the stomach. The vice principal, who rushed to the classroom to de-escalate the situation, was also attacked, suffering a bite to her hand and a kick to her face.
The Israel Teachers Union stated that this was not an isolated incident involving the same student. Previous violent outbursts at the school reportedly resulted in a teacher suffering a concussion and another sustaining two broken fingers. In response to the latest assault, classes will begin at 10:00 AM on Monday, though communication classes are exempt and will operate on a normal schedule.
Union Condemnation and Safety Concerns
Michael Pinto, Deputy Secretary-General and Head of Professional Unionism at the Teachers Union, strongly condemned the violence. "We will not accept a reality where educational staff are attacked while performing their duties and protecting their students," Pinto stated, emphasizing that repeated violent incidents demand an immediate and decisive response.
Aliza Sokol, head of the Kfar Saba branch of the Teachers Union, echoed these concerns. "Educational workers are not punching bags. We cannot accept a situation where teachers are assaulted while trying to stop a violent incident and protect students," Sokol said, adding that the staff requires full backing and concrete measures to ensure their safety.
The Broader Issue of School Violence
Investigations highlight a broader systemic void regarding data collection on violence against educators in Israel. Neither the Ministry of Education nor the teachers' unions maintain comprehensive annual reports tracking the exact scope of assaults on teaching staff, leaving individual educators facing severe threats and physical abuse with limited institutional oversight.
