Succot Blasts Rahat Over Sunday School Shutdown Ahead of Knesset Panel Visit

Knesset Education Committee chairman MK Tzvi Succot condemned Saturday night the Rahat municipality's decision to close every school in the Bedouin city on Sunday July 12 to block his panel's planned oversight visit. Succot, of Religious Zionism, called shutting the education system to prevent a Knesset inspection an admission of failure, arguing the committee oversees Israel's schools for Jewish and Arab students alike. Mayor Talal al-Qarnawi ordered the closure days earlier, casting the visit as a provocative move and instructing administrative, maintenance and security staff to stay home. The committee has toured Arab and Bedouin schools this term to review efforts against school violence, security cooperation and curriculum quality, and Succot vowed to press ahead with oversight work without fear or bias.