Photo: depositphotos.
On 7 October, a kindergarten teacher was arrested in Tamra because of a video on TikTok of her dancing. This case immediately caused a wave of outrage in Israeli society, which was joined by far-right politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and MK Limor Son Har-Melech. The latter appealed to Education Minister Yoav Kish to immediately dismiss the teacher from her position at a school in Nazareth, citing her unacceptable behaviour.
However, the situation was not so clear-cut. The teacher has never expressed support for Hamas or terrorist organisations. Moreover, in November last year, she posted a video in memory of the victim of the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri. In the video, which caused a scandal, the woman was simply dancing to the song “Another Good Time”. Her friends claim that dancing is part of her job – she regularly organises games and dance activities for children.
However, the teacher is Arab, and the very fact that she danced “on the wrong day” – during the tragic events of 7 October – was a key argument for her detention. In addition, there are reasons to believe that the video could have been filmed earlier, not on the day of the terrorist attack.
This situation underscores the acuteness of political and social conflicts in Israel, where ethnicity and circumstances often intersect in the context of public actions and their perception.
