Education minister denies top official was fired over school vaccine drive

Yifat Shasha-Biton decries as ‘smear’ reports that ministry director Yigal Slovik was axed because he backed student inoculation campaign she opposed

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton on Monday denied reports that the firing of her ministry’s director-general a day earlier was related to disagreements over coronavirus vaccines for children, an issue in which she has been an outspoken critic of government policies.

Education Ministry Director-General Yigal Slovik was fired from his post on Sunday due to a spat with Shasha-Biton, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

An official letter signed by Shasha-Biton informed Slovik of the termination of his employment at the end of December, after the two spoke on Wednesday.

According to Channel 12 news, Slovik said that there had been “gaps” between him and the minister, and sources close to Shasha-Biton said that his termination had been in the offing for some time.

Associates of Slovik were reported by Hebrew media to have alleged the dispute with Shasha-Biton had centered around a government move to vaccinate children at schools.

“The education minister opposed vaccines inside the schools and said they would be given outside schools,” the associates told Ynet. “[Slovik] wanted to act in accordance with the government decision, and the education minister was outraged. From the start, Slovik supported vaccinating students and voiced this position to Shasha-Biton’s dismay. The disagreements were insurmountable, the situation escalated in recent weeks and she kept sabotaging him.”

An Israeli student receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection at a high school in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, March 17, 2021. (Flash90)

The associates also claimed that Slovik and Shasha-Biton disagreed on measures to be taken in preparation for another wave of COVID-19 infections.

“She demanded that the Education Ministry not be an active partner in the vaccination drive and minimize its involvement,” Slovik’s associates were quoted as saying.

On Monday, Shasha-Biton issued a scathing statement denouncing that account as “false smears” and insisted that the disagreements had nothing to do with the pandemic.

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton speaks at a press conference at the Education Ministry in Tel Aviv, in preparation for the opening of the school year nationwide, on August 31, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

“Out of respect for Slovik, I didn’t want to hold a public discussion,” she said in a statement. “But due to the false smears being spread, I will just say that the disagreement between us was about his conduct, behavior and failure to meet goals I had set for the education system. I will not elaborate.”

“A person shouldn’t be judged in their time of sorrow, but his conduct proves he is an unreliable person,” she said.

Slovik was appointed in June, when a new government was sworn in. He had previously headed the military’s ground forces’ manpower division.

Shasha-Biton, a member of the right-wing New Hope party, has been particularly outspoken in her criticism of much of the government’s approach to the coronavirus.

Education Ministry director-general Yigal Slovik speaks at a press conference at the Ministry of Education in Tel Aviv, August 31, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

While she initially resisted vaccinating children on school grounds, she eventually somewhat walked back her sharp opposition.

Shasha-Biton has been the target of threats over the past few months, and has risen to prominence as a vocal and outspoken member of the coronavirus cabinet.

She has also repeatedly clashed with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz over coronavirus restrictions in schools and has been the subject of multiple anonymous attacks in the press.