Israeli Public Most Satisfied with Education Minister: Why??

כ"ט לחודש האחד עשר תשע"ד

When I saw this headline, I thought to myself, "Oh, no. The people have really lost it this time!"

Why on earth would the Israeli public be most satisfied with Shari Piron's performance as Minister of Education, over any others?? 

Let's see...

• He hosted a Ramadan Break-fast.
• He heads one of the departments set to re-educate the ideologically motivated hilltop youth.
• He Endured criticism from prominent Religious Zionist Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beth-El, for being apart of the Yesh Atid Party, and thus associated with cuts in yeshiva budgets..
• And, most recently, he praised leftist extraordinaire Shulamit Aloni for working "with courage, honesty and integrity which are a model for a ground-breaking leader, a woman of principle and action with firm ideology."

Plus, I have it on very high authority that he is not the biggest fan of non-Mamlakhi (State), private and semi-private schools, irregardless of some of their impeccable records, and has not been terribly supportive of them,...and that's an understatement, I have been told. What does this suggest about his views on educational choice? What does this tell you about his concern for children not enrolled in the State indoctrination process?

Rabbi Shai Piron
(Photo: Yossi Aloni)

Not a very promising Minister of Education, not in my book anyway.

But, then I actually read the report...

Arutz 7: Public Most Satisfied with Education Minister, Poll FindsEducation Minister Shai Piron is the minister with whose performance the Israeli public is most satisfied, finds new poll.

Elad Benari, January 29, 2014
Education Minister Shai Piron (Yesh Atid) is the minister with whose performance the Israeli public is most satisfied, according to a poll conducted for Channel 2 and released Tuesday. 

In the poll, which was conducted among 501 people, respondents were asked to specify four ministers with whose performance they were most satisfied. 

Rabbi Shai Piron
Minister of RE-Education
(Photo: Yo'av Dudekevitch)

46 percent of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with Piron’s performance. The second place went to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, with 32 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied with his performance. 

Interior Minister Gideon Saar came in third place with 31 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied with the performance. 

Saar was followed by Health Minister Yael German (Yesh Atid) and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. 28 percent said they approved of German and Livni’s performances. 27 percent were satisfied with the performance of Economy, Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs and Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett. 

Only 15 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Finance Minister Yair Lapid. Minister Silvan Shalom also received the approval of only 15 percent of respondents. Housing Minister Uri Ariel was backed by 10 percent of the respondents in the poll. 

International Relations and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz and Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver (Yisrael Beytenu) were at the bottom of the list, with 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Gee. I guess we need standardize our definitions of "satisfied" and "most satisfied."

Why, I almost thought that it was actually true that the Israeli public was "most satisfied" with the Education Minister's performance,...and I suppose they are,...technically speaking.

Of course, I did not know that this description of being the mostest of the mostest was based solely on the few measly percentage points he managed to squeeze out of the survey in order to squeak past the those other ministers also performing at a less than 50 percent satisfaction rate.

So, what does that really make Rabbi Minister Shai Piron?

It makes him the winner of the losers.