A 43-year-old teacher from Petah Tikva, who was convicted by the Civil Service Commission's court for inviting three 11th-grade students to her home and having sex with two of them while the third watched the incident, said Wednesday that “some of the things published are not true,” while adding that she “repents.”
She made the comments after Ynet earlier on Wednesday revealed the case, in which she admitted to her actions in a plea deal before the Civil Service Commission’s disciplinary tribunal. The teacher was permanently disqualified from the Education Ministry and banned for eight years from working in any position involving children.
The teacher – an employee of the Ministry of Education – served for nine years as an English teacher in grades 7-9. According to the verdict, her inappropriate relationships with the boys took place between September 2024 and January 2025, when, among other things, she corresponded with them in private messages on social media and smoked with them on the school premises. The incident in which she had sexual relations with them took place on January 16, 2025, and according to the prosecution the acts were "at the highest level of behavior unbecoming of a civil servant – and in particular an employee of the education system
In an interview with journalist Daniel Amram, the teacher said: “One student who approached me, I told him it’s better we don’t talk about this. I haven’t spoken with them for months, I’m not their teacher. I didn’t send photos,” she said. “It was a one-time thing. I regret it. My life is ruined.”
Her attorney said the criminal case against her was closed for lack of evidence after a police investigation. The reason, he said, was that the students were over 17 and were not in her class. “The prosecutor who closed the case understood quickly that the acts were consensual and that she wasn’t their direct teacher. There was no criminal offense, and the case was closed,” he said.
The Civil Service tribunal noted in its ruling that the teacher had nine years of seniority and that her actions “deviated in an extreme way from the basic professional boundaries required of a teacher in her position, all the more so of an experienced teacher.” The ruling said the misconduct began with smoking with students on school grounds, escalated to “improper personal contact via social networks,” and culminated in a sexual encounter at her home with students from the same school.
“These are extraordinarily serious acts that constitute a grave breach of public trust in the education system in general, and a violation of the trust of parents who entrust their children to the teachers in particular,” the tribunal wrote.
The tribunal said her behavior was severe enough to warrant immediate dismissal and disqualification from working with students in the future, while also noting mitigating circumstances: she is the mother of two young children, 43 years old, with no prior disciplinary record and a previously unblemished teaching career.
The Education Ministry said in response: “The ministry takes any deviation from educational values and the trust placed in educators very seriously. In this case, the ministry led a thorough disciplinary process against the employee, which concluded with her dismissal and complete removal from the education system. The ministry will continue to act decisively to safeguard the integrity of the education system, the security and well-being of students, and public trust in teachers.”
The affair was first exposed more than a year ago after the school administration received information that the English teacher had been seen smoking with students near a kiosk outside the school. At the same time, it emerged that an outsider had photographed her smoking with students. A subsequent inquiry found she had driven students to parties and later engaged in sexual relations with a student. When confronted, she admitted immediately, saying she acted out of loneliness and distress while her husband was on reserve duty.
Raanan Ben-Tzur and Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad participated in preparing the article
