The Education Ministry faced backlash on Wednesday following reports that it had hired a former principal, previously fired over sexual harassment allegations, as a temporary project coordinator to assist northern evacuees during the 2024 matriculation exam period.
David Suissa, the former principal of Amal Nofrim High School in Tiberias, was employed by the ministry for the project coordinator position in 2024.
However, before the appointment, in 2021, a KAN report stated that he was dismissed after it was determined that he had sexually harassed two female teachers and a former teacher who worked under him.
The Education Ministry responded on Wednesday that Suissa worked in the coordinator position for “only four months, from April 24 to August 31, 2024.”
“The appointment was short-term, specific, and time-limited, and it was fully reviewed from a professional standpoint before he assumed the role,” the ministry added.
When conducting the review beforehand on Suissa, “no administrative or legal impediment to the appointment was found,” the ministry said.
“As of today, more than a year after the end of his role, Mr. Suissa is not employed and holds no position within the education system,” the ministry added.
Harassment of the teachers
The 2021 KAN report, viewed by The Jerusalem Post, states that the Amal Educational Network conducted an internal inquiry on Suissa.
The report showed Suissa’s harassment of the teachers which included unwanted hugging, repeated invitations to meet him alone, including outside work hours and off school grounds, and an attempt to forcibly kiss one of the teachers while driving her home.
The report added that the teachers had been afraid of him, and one said that after she refused to meet him alone, Suissa began treating her poorly.
Orit Sulitzeanu, CEO of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers, called Suissa’s later appointment as project coordinator for the Education Ministry “a slap in the face to the teachers who filed complaints against him.”
“This is a distorted decision that normalizes sexual misconduct and ignores the serious harm it causes to those who were harassed,” she added.
“This decision demonstrates that the Education Ministry of the State of Israel is blatantly disregarding the safety of the teachers.”