Herzlia pupils exercising a fundamental right

Dennis Davis and Gilad Stern, Cape Town

The announcement by the headmaster of Herzlia School in Cape Town that two pupils, who kneeled during the singing of Hatikvah at the annual prize giving ceremony, would be severely disciplined, is a sad reflection of the disregard for freedom of speech.

After more than a century of struggle, South Africa passed a Constitution which enshrines freedom of speech. It is a fundamental component of democratic society. We should be ensuring that our children appreciate its importance. When a person exercises this right, it is of the nature of speech that it might offend, annoy, and irritate some who listen to the speech. But provided it is not hate speech, it should be protected.

Kneeling while an anthem is sung is hardly hate speech. The headmaster argues that the time and place were inappropriate, that the pupils flouted school rules, and that the school’s Zionist values were fundamentally disregarded by the act of kneeling. The answer provided by one of the pupils in a most impressive interview was that although he is a Zionist, he considers that this is not to be equated with concurring with the policies of the present Israeli government.

This case is not about one’s view of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Whatever one’s view, the pupils were exercising a fundamental right. That is surely what education aims to achieve.