In Israel, Will Creationists Reign?
While discussion of Israeli elections has largely (and reasonably) focused on the different parties’ views on the occupation of Palestine and the prospect of war with Iran, the ongoing effort to craft a coalition government may carry risks for science education, too.
Ha’aretz asked the leaders of the eleven parties competing for seats in the election a series of questions, including questions about evolution and climate change. On climate change, all seven who responded spoke in support of action. Unfortunately, the remaining four parties declined to answer, and all four are likely to be part of the governing coalition.
On evolution, only two of the seven enthusiastically endorsed the teaching of evolution; three opposed it, one dodged the matter, and another seemed to suggest that evolution be taught alongside creationism. Again, the four parties likely to be included in the ruling coalition all declined to answer, with a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party dismissing the questions as “cheeky.”
Of those who answered, two have been part of coalitions with Likud before, and may be included in the new government. Kulanu’s Moshe Kahlon responded on evolution: “Israel inscribed on its flag the topics of research, curiosity and human development. That is our strength. We believe that in schools various approaches should be taught, including evolution.” Shas’s Arye Dery declined to go even that far, declaring: “As an ultra-Orthodox party that believes that our forefathers were Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that our holy matriarchs were Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, we refuse to teach our children that they originated from apes.”