"Israel's Ministry of Education is in danger of becoming the Ministry of the Permitted and the Forbidden - or the Ministry of What Is Not Education."
--Sociology Professor Samuel Heilman of the City University of New York warns that the changes instituted by Education Minister Naftali Bennett over who decides what cultural works are appropriate for Israeli pupils, is leading Israel away from being a democratic society.*

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You Must Be Kidding: 
Education Minister Naftali Bennett told Sunday’s cabinet meeting that Palestinian parents are not preventing their children from committing stabbing attacks so that they can get money from the Palestinian Authority. One source at the meeting told Haaretz: "Several of those present squirmed uncomfortably in their seats."**

"This figure is especially troubling because it signals a desire to erase the existence of the Palestinians in Israel, in the past and present, and points out how effectively the notion of an Arab-Jewish culture has been erased from Israeli consciousness."
--Yuval Evri gives the statistics and the historical and sociological reasons why Jewish Israelis don't want Arabic, the language that was shared by both Jews and Arabs here before the creation of the state.

"On the other hand, we must not lose our humanity in moments like that, just because blood is boiling. We hear a lot of expressions like 'We must eliminate them and go crazy.' I say no to that..."
--Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.
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You Must Be Kidding: 
Beginning next school year, the great majority of cultural institutions have to agree to be willing to perform in West Bank settlements - in order to host class outings.
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"I don't want a soldier to empty a magazine on a girl with scissors, even if she commits a very serious act." 

--IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot told high school students.

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You Must Be Kidding: 
"There is no and never will be a comparison between the suffering of the families of the murdered and between the discomfort that is caused to the families of the murderers."
--From a petition by 22 Jewish Israeli relatives of people murdered by Palestinians demanding to expel the killers and their families.

"You Israelis are sure that if you shoot to kill someone who made an attack, then it will deter others. That’s maybe true for the older generation, but it causes the opposite effect on the youth. They are hot-blooded and they see this and they want revenge.” 

--A Palestinian shop owner opposite the Old City's Damascus Gate talks about the numerous attacks that have taken place in front of him.*

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You Must Be Kidding: 
Border Police detained Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief William Booth and his translator in E. Jerusalem as they interviewed Palestinians at Damascus Gate.**

"Many voices in Israel today have a narrow, minimalist understanding of the substance of democracy. For them, democracy is not anything but majority rule. Some of them believe this."
--Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sounded alarms over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bill aimed at suspending Arab Knesset members.*
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You Must Be Kidding: 
Police investigating a fire at a Muslim holy site in an Arab village in northern Israel said they saw no indication that this was a hate crime, as they didn't find any inflammatory graffiti. The tomb was seriously damaged and holy books were burned.**

"What makes you think that the tears on the pillow of a bereaved Palestinian mother are of a different color or substance than those of a grieving Israeli mother? What could make you think that in comparing suffering no mother can suffer more than 'our' mothers?  Perhaps you think that you know how a Palestinian mother feels, or that their culture is different, or that she does not value the life of her child like 'we' do?"
--Robi Damelin, whose soldier son was killed by a Palestinian sniper, slams Jewish Israelis who call for Army Radio journalist Razi Barkai to be fired for comparing bereaving mothers.**

“The government’s message to the settlers is that in practice, there is no need for planning and advance approval of plans, as ultimately the construction will be approved after the fact.”
--Peace Now said after it released its 2015 report on settlements that revealed that since Binyamin Netanyahu came to power in 2009, 61% of all building in settlements was in isolated ones.

“I didn’t compare for a moment between IDF soldiers that were killed and between Palestinians. I think that between the feeling of a bereaved Israeli and a bereaved Palestinian mother – there is no difference. If the words hurt, it was an unsuccessful remark.”
--Army Radio journalist Razi Barkai was quoted saying on air after bereaved parents of fallen Israeli soldiers expressed outrage at his comparison this week. Yesterday, Army Radio director Yaron London apologized to the Israeli parents, Israel Hayom reported today. The parents have demanded Barkai's removal and Army Radio has announced it has shortened his show and added a show by far right-wing journalist, Aral Segal.

Knesset Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi): "I wanted to hold a principled discussion."
MK Miki Rosenthal (Zionist Camp): “What principle do you want us to discuss? This law includes two words: ‘Arabs, Out.’”
MK Yousef Jabareen (Joint Arab List) to Slomiansky: “Perhaps you will propose we resign and that’s it?” 
MK Oren Hazan to MK Jabareen: “I’m prepared to drive you home.” 

--The 'circus' of a debate held in the Knesset Law and Justice Committee to discuss a bill that states that aims to be able to dismiss Arab MKs with a vote.*

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You Must Be Kidding: 
1.) “First, Israel builds a military base in a Palestinian neighborhood, then, impertinently, it infringes on the neighborhood’s children’s basic right to education.”
--Ir Amim NGO said in response to Israel's objection to opening a school in East Jerusalem, claiming it would endanger a nearby Border Police base.**

2.) "I want to go back to history, what is our place here, about Jerusalem, about Palestine, when like we said, Arabic doesn't even have 'P,' so this loan-word also merits scrutiny." 
--Likud MK Anat Berko, a criminologist who  expert on Islamic terror, tells the Knesset plenum that the Palestinian nation doesn’t exist, because Arabic doesn't have a 'P.' (The Arabic word is Falasteen, not Palestine.)***