Thousands of Israeli high schoolers protest judicial reform, Avi Maoz

Thousands of high school students went on strike in Israel on Sunday in protest against the judicial reform and the transfer of education authority to Noam's Avi Maoz.

The students, who come from dozens of schools around the country, will hold a march in Tel Aviv that will begin at Beit Dizengoff and end at Habima Square.

The protest is supported by dozens of school principals and parent committees.

"It's exciting to see thousands of students who have answered the call and joined the strike," said high school students Shoval Loker and Dvir Polsky who arranged the protest. "As far as we're concerned, this is only the beginning. We won't let Avi Maoz educate us, we won't stay silent in the face of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and Yariv Levin's judicial overhaul that will harm our rights in the future. We represent thousands of students who are worried about the fact that our future and the future of Israel are threatened, and we don't intend on staying silent in the face of a direct attack against us.

Why are the students protesting against Avi Maoz?

Avi Maoz was put in charge of the Unit for External Programs and Promoting Partnerships in the Education Ministry a couple of weeks ago. The move was greatly criticized by LGBTQ+ groups because of his outspoken opposition toward them. He promised to cancel the LGBTQ+ pride parade in Jerusalem, calling it abominable and promiscuous and has spoken out against gay and trans people on multiple occasions.

LGBTQ+ groups are concerned that in his new role, Maoz will be able to block LGBTQ+ organizations from interacting with the education system.