Avi Arntroy, a member of the Beit Shemesh City Council on behalf of Degel HaTorah, was a guest on the program "Tedar Mashala" hosted by Esti Greenberg on "Kan Moreshet", and recounted the difficult experiences he went through as a child, as part of his studies in Talmud Torah.
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The interview took place following a post he published on social media about the documentary film "The Haidar" created by Manny Philip, a former Haredi, which deals with violence in Haredi educational institutions as a method of education, and brings the stories of past and present students, who reveal how the physical and mental violence they experienced in the classrooms affected their souls. The film sparked a wide-ranging discussion within the Haredi public and beyond.
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In a post he published, Arntroy described traumatic events he experienced: "I got beaten up a lot in Talmud Torah, but what was worse, when I was six years old, the rabbi decided I was lying and told me to stand in the middle of the room and put a sheet of metal over my head that actually covered me up to my waist. To stand and hear the children and everything that was happening - without seeing. It was an experience of terrible shame for me and it remains with me to this day.".
Arntroy also told of another incident in which a teacher hit him on his injured leg, after he placed it on a chair in class following a sprain he sustained during recess.
In an interview with Greenberg, Arntroy explained that despite the difficult experiences, he sees significant progress in the Haredi education system: "Today the reality is completely different. Thank God, my children - I have a 15-year-old girl and a 13-year-old son - do not see such behaviors as we experienced in the past.".
He said, "Teachers and rabbis today take courses that did not exist in the past. There are even our own institutions that require teachers to take courses. I am involved in my sons' Torah Talmud in Ramat Beit Shemesh, and I am exposed to the courses and the things they do.".
When asked whether there are still cases of violence in the Haredi education system and how they should be addressed, he replied: "As a simple answer - yes. First of all, anything that is not good needs to be addressed, ignoring it won't help.".
However, he emphasized the role of rabbis and Torah scholars in guiding the way, noting: "Today there are many rabbis who understand education, more and more, who stand out from the system.".
Arntroy also addressed the broader challenges in the education system: "The education system today is not adapted to today's children, and this is not just in the Haredi sector and not just the Jewish sector. This is all over the world.".
He explained that the model of 40 students in a classroom with one teacher is not suitable for the current needs and challenges that today's children face.
At the end of the interview, Arntroy conveyed a message of hope and growth from the difficulty: "No matter what you've been through in life... your job in life is to know how to grow from it. It's true, there should be no verbal or physical violence, but the world is cruel and we need to know how to take the difficult experiences and turn them into something positive.".
