Anti-"Rabin's Legacy" Teacher Wins NIS 450,000 in Lawsuit

Thirteen years ago, Yisrael Shiran, a school teacher, demanded, in a public letter to fellow educators, that the Ministry of Education should differentiate between what is called "Rabin's Legacy" or in plain English, praise for the Oslo Agreement, and Rabin's assassination, during the government mandated Rabin Memorial Day lessons on the anniversary of Rabin's assassination.

Shiran had no problem teaching about the assassination, but made it clear that there must be differentiation between the assassination and Rabin's "Legacy", which many consider "controversial". In his letter to fellow educators, Shiran clearly condemned the assassination.

As a result of the letter, Shiran was suspended from his job by the Ministry of Education.

Since then, Shiran sued the government a few times to get his job back, which he did, but not in the same position or conditions, conditions that included requiring another teacher in the room with him.

In 2009, Shiran sued the Ministry of Education for NIS 2.8 million, and on Thursday a District Court ordered the ministry to pay Shiran NIS 450,000.

The judge determined that the Ministry of Education repeatedly obstructed Shiran from becoming a regular teacher again, while providing various excuses for each obstacle. The judge accepted the argument that all the obstacles the Ministry of Education was placing in front of Shiran were only because of the letter, and not for any other reason.