By Tim Binnall
A strange controversy is swirling around a high school in Israel after administrators invited a Flat Earth enthusiast to speak to students. The unorthodox presentation reportedly occurred at the Bar Ilan high school in the city of Ramat Gan as part of an alumni lecture series for a class of ninth-graders. Among the graduates brought in to enlighten the students was Matan Gorodish, who proceeded to spend around thirty minutes telling them about how the Earth is really flat and modern science is merely "nothing more than guess work, lies, and gullibility meant to advance a certain agenda."
As one can imagine, Gorodish's presentation did not go over all that well with the public as the school was subsequently slammed for having a Flat Earther speak to students. While the country's Education Ministry was a bit measured in their response, noting that the researcher's stance "contradicts the scientific views" of the department and stressing that participation in the lecture was voluntary, other officials were more pointed in their criticism. Specifically, science educator Dr. Liat Ben David lambasted the school by lamenting that it was "horrifying to think that instead of using actual accurate scientific tools and studies that are available to all, students are being offered such absolute drivel."
In response to the furor, the high school somewhat defended their decision by explaining that many students actually debated Gorodish about his stance on the shape of the planet, suggesting that perhaps there was an educational benefit to the exercise. Be that as it may, they also announced plans to "create a team to approve any future lecturers" so as to avoid any similar controversies. Meanwhile, Gorodish seemed taken aback by the kerfuffle since he's made presentations at other Israeli schools in the past, but did concede that "it was a surprise to me too" that his alma mater still welcomed him after he'd told them that he wanted to talk to the students about the Flat Earth.