Chairman MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) of the Knesset’s Direct-Employment lobby called on Education Minister Gid’on Sa’ar, Monday, to get involved and prevent the firing of teachers in the HILA program for at-risk youth. HILA teachers staged a strike over notice from their employers – the Association of Community Centers – that they faced pre-dismissal hearings.

 Khenin said, “The Hila project is of tremendous social importance. This is the last line of defense that the education systems place for teenagers who have dropped out of the formal education system. Instead of firing the HILA program teachers, it should be ensured that they become part of the education system and be absorbed into it as state civil servants or as employees of local authorities.”

A Hila workers’ demonstration in Tel-Aviv, March 27, 2012 (Photo: Koah La’Ovdim)

About 1,500 teachers in the HILA program for dropouts are striking the last weeks throughout the country in protest over job security after they were summoned to dismissal hearings by the Association of Community Centers.