Education Ministry’s virus czar quits amid vaccine spat between officials, minister

The Education Ministry’s head of coronavirus policy resigned on Tuesday, strengthening the assumption that Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton’s firing of her ministry’s director-general was related to disagreements over coronavirus vaccines for children.

Yogev Nadav decided to step down from his position spearheading the Education Ministry’s response to the pandemic.

Nadav’s job included the project to administer coronavirus vaccines in schools, the pilot program of which kicked off on Sunday.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, Nadav’s resignation was linked to Shasha-Biton’s firing of ministry director general Yigal Slovik, days earlier.

Associates of Slovik were reported by Hebrew media to have alleged the dispute with Shasha-Biton had centered around the government’s decision to vaccinate children at school.

Shasha-Biton, who has been an outspoken critic of government policies on the matter of vaccines during the pandemic, has denied that that was her reason for firing Slovik.

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 insisting that the disagreements had nothing to do with the pandemic.

“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.

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

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 initially rose to prominence as a vocal and outspoken member of the coronavirus cabinet in the previous government.

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.