The IDF cleared for publication on Tuesday that Staff Sergeant Ido Samiach Staff Sergeant Samiach served as a squad sergeant in the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Nahal Brigade The city of Ganei Tikva lamented Ido's death: "Great mourning has fallen on Ganei Tikva." was the pride of his family and our community He fought heroically for the security of the State of Israel and his death left behind a void in the hearts of all those who knew him a flag procession will accompany the family from their home to the cemetery "We invite the residents of Ganei Tikva to partake in the funeral and pay final respects to Ido and his family during these difficult moments This is the third loss that the Nahal Brigade which has been operating in the northern Gaza Strip the IDF announced that Captain Eitan Israel Shiknazi a deputy company commander in the brigade's 932nd Battalion fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip On Tuesday morning the IDF cleared for publication that the company's commander Since the war began 828 soldiers have fallen 392 since the ground maneuvers began in the Gaza Strip 5,580 soldiers were wounded since the beginning of the war - 818 severely 2,531 were wounded since the beginning of the ground maneuvers in Gaza 2024Get email notification for articles from Shira Kadari-Ovadia FollowMay 15 2024Israel's Education Ministry has summoned a middle school teacher to a meeting with officials after she was filmed on Tuesday in a march near Shfar'am marking the Nakba IDF AnnouncesAfter the fatal shooting of Staff Sergeant Ido Shamik in Beit Hanoun the IDF announced an investigation into the incident Since the ground operation in north Gaza began in October from the central Israeli city of Ganei Tikva was killed by gunfire Tuesday morning in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun The Israel Defense Forces said that the incident is under investigation By subscribing I accept the terms of use and privacy policy Sabreen Msarwi found out on Facebook that she lost her job teaching middle school last week Her transgression: marching in a Nakba demonstration on her day off Israel — Sabreen Msarwi lost her job teaching Arabic at a middle school in Ganei Tikva last week after marching the displacement of some 700,000 Palestinians around Israel’s 1948 founding to be suspended or fired from local schools and universities since Oct 7 for voicing critical opinions of Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza and other views the government finds objectionable Civil rights groups and defense lawyers count at least 46 indictments over the past seven months of people in academic settings who have expressed dissent and said that at least 28 of them spent time in jail “There is no freedom of speech for teachers just now,” Msarwi who is 46 and has been teaching for 23 years “We’re being persecuted for expressing our views.” Firm numbers about sanctions against educators are harder to come by but the Association of Civil Rights in Israel told me that at least 35 cities towns and universities have taken disciplinary actions against teachers and professors since October they are mostly accused of transgressions outside the classroom: marching in anti-government demonstrations or posting on social media concern for the people of Gaza The National Security Ministry did not return phone calls about those who have faced arrest and prosecution Crackdowns on dissent are common in wartime even in liberal democracies but Israeli experts say this spate is worse than during previous wars as Israel’s right-wing government worries over the effects dissident educators could have on young people Critics say conservative activists have seized on the wave of patriotism since Oct 7 to root out educators they see as troublemakers they’re saying they don’t want to hear teachers speaking against Israel,” Shai Glick an Orthodox activist who teaches Torah in Beit Shemesh and has been leading social media efforts to oust activists from schools Israel does not have a constitution and lacks explicit protections for free speech and assembly like those outlined in the First Amendment Its basic laws and court decisions have generally protected those things Although hundreds of thousands of Israelis spent much of the year before Oct 7 protesting government initiatives to erode democratic institutions the crackdown on dissent from educators has triggered little protest or public conversation The highest-profile case against an educator here is that of Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian who has taught at Hebrew University for 28 years and authored more than 100 articles and books She was suspended from the university’s law faculty in March after accusing Israel of genocide and questioning whether Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct then reinstated — only to be arrested in April on suspicion of inciting terror “Nadera would say the same thing I will — that whatever narrow margin of free speech Israel used to have on campuses has vanished since October,” Mahajna said “The government is using this war as an excuse to turn people whose views it disapproves of into enemies of the state justified Shalhoub-Kevorkian’s suspension by declaring itself a proud “Zionist institution,” which sparked criticism from academics and civil rights advocates particularly because it has long touted its inclusivity of Palestinian-Israelis “Israel’s flagship university has shown the world that it is not open for any debate or dialogue that does not toe the line of the Zionist state,” said Uri Horesh Horesh himself was fired last fall from Achva Academic College where he was a senior lecturer in linguistics He said his ouster was based on social media posts in which he accused Israel of genocide and called to “Free the Gaza ghetto.” He now teaches at the University of St The National Union of Israeli Students called in October for the removal of students or faculty members who express solidarity with Hamas’ attacks and encouraged anonymous reporting of anyone suspected of supporting terror a throng encircled the dormitories of Arab Israeli students at Netanya Academic College chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Go back to Gaza.” At the urging of the Ministry of Education several schools and universities throughout Israel have referred complaints against educators to the national police The police department is overseen by Itamar Ben-Gvir the racist and far-right minister who has said Arab citizens expressing disloyalty to Israel “must be expelled.” who has taught high school civics and history for 35 years he posted on Facebook questioning the occupation and sympathizing with women and children killed in Gaza responded in the comments accusing him of sympathizing with Hamas Baruchin was fired in late October from Yitzhak Shamir High School He said he was categorized as a high-risk detainee spent four days in solitary confinement and had his home and electronic devices searched by the police He also said his arms and legs were tied while he was interrogated on suspicion of intent to disrupt public order and to commit treason and a judge fined municipal and state governments for mistreating him and in January ordered Petah Tikva to give him his job back whose son is serving in a combat unit of the Israel Defense Forces said that when he returned to the classroom “I was literally under siege inside the teachers’ room,” he told me wishing I have cancer in every part of my body I can’t teach under those conditions,” Baruchin explained He and three other educators I interviewed blamed Glick for their oustings. Glick has worked through email and social media alerts to stir up grassroots movements to cancel leftist events and silence groups and people he deems to be unpatriotic. A Haaretz profile from 2020 dubbed Glick Glick defined his work — and that of a group he runs called Btsalmo — as human rights activism “in the spirit of Jewish ethical traditions.” “Most of the human rights organizations speaking out right now are only speaking on the civilians in Gaza,” he said “They’re not speaking about the people in Israel who need to understand the terrorist evil “There’s two sides with what is going on in the world There’s good people and there’s bad people,” he added “If we see any teacher who support terrorism or say they understand terrorists Another organization, called Im Tirtzu, keeps an online blacklist it calls “Know the Anti-Zionist Israeli Professor.” The website urges students to avoid their classes these radical professors are viewed by the outside observer as neutral and credible authorities on matters concerning Israel,” the website reads “This unearned credibility is then used by Israel-haters worldwide to attack Israel ‘Israelis themselves are the ones saying these things many of these extreme professors cynically bash Israel while using the good name of the Israeli universities that employ them.” a Hebrew University law professor whose name is on the list said Im Tirzu and Glick take the approach “that people who get their salaries from the state ought to be loyal to the state which people confuse with meaning they ought to be loyal to the government.” but it works and has created quite the chilling effect of academics suppressing their opinions,” Harel told me “I am disposed to think there are very strong sentiments here that could lead us to become an authoritarian state Warda Sada was fired from her position teaching early childhood pedagogy at the Kaye Academic College of Education in Be’er Sheva after a former student took a screenshot of her Facebook profile That symbol is a trigger for many Jewish Israelis Sada’s critics also shared a few of her Facebook posts citing “the brutality of the occupation,” and condemning violence on both sides of the war and the killing of innocent civilians She said some Jewish colleagues posted similar things and were not punished “All the people who shared my post didn’t read my posts,” she told me “They were saying I was dancing on the blood of Israelis and it was just going viral like a fire in the very dry grass.” “I don’t just speak because I feel personally about human rights or because there has never been full democracy for me,” Sada added “I speak because academics have the first responsibility to change these paths to help create more better environments and make it better so we can educate kids that will be future good citizens.” the Arabic teacher from Tayibe who was fired last week said she had made a point of attending a Memorial Day ceremony to support her Jewish students at the Rishonim Middle School in nearby Ganei Tikva It is not a day that’s personally meaningful to her but she has learned over her years in the classroom the importance of “honoring the kids’ traditions” and when schools were closed for Israel’s Independence Day marching with her own children at a nearby community torn apart during the Nakba the Arabic word for catastrophe — which is how Palestinians understand the destruction of their homeland and the history of their displacement “I want my children to know this is a huge unsolved issue,” she told me The Nakba is generally not taught in Israel’s public schools And Msarwi — an activist involved with the coexistence movement called Standing Together — does not bring it up in her classes But because the Nakba is part of her family’s identity she participates in the annual march to former Palestinian communities wiped out in the Nakba without apology she returned home to find that a photo of her marching that morning had gone viral and along with it comments telling her to “Go to Gaza” and “I wish you were dead.” “Kick that whore teacher out of the Ganei Tikva school,” posted Daniel Amram who identifies himself as a journalist and internet personality Msarwi saw a Facebook post indicating that she had been suspended from the job she has loved for five years ripped from the students she has relished teaching her language Asked what she wants people to know about her situation Clarification: The original version of this article inappropriately identified Shai Glick as a rabbi but said that he teaches Torah and leads some services at a synagogue in Beit Shemesh Susan Greene is the Forward’s Israel-based correspondent. She has spent the last quarter century reporting news in Colorado, most recently as an investigative reporter and coach for journalists throughout the state. She tweets at @greeneindenver.@greeneindenver I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association