Knesset Votes to Exempt Ultra-Orthodox Schools from Core Curriculum

Jerusalem (TPS) – The Knesset Education Committee met on Tuesday to discuss the final ratification of a bill passed in its first reading that would nullify the requirement that Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) elementary schools teach a minimum of basic courses in English, math, and science in order to receive government funding. The first reading of the new bill had been approved on Monday by a majority of 37 lawmakers in favor versus 33 who opposed it. The bill has yet to pass a second and third reading in order to be ratified into law.

The bill revokes a previous law passed in 2013 by Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid in collaboration with former Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron. The law had mandated that a portion of state funding for Haredi schools be conditioned upon compliance with the requirement that a minimum of 10 to 11 weekly hours be spent on “core” subjects. Since many Haredi schools refuse to do so, the law ultimately would have reduced government subsidies for those institutions from 55% for to 35%.

The bill would affect around 40,000 to 50,000 religious Israeli students who are currently spending less than the required amount of time on subjects that they regard as “secular.” According to the new bill, Education Minister Naftali Bennett would have total discretion in providing the funding for these institutions.

Lapid’s bill was only to take effect next year and was never enforced due to legal hurdles that paved the way for the current coalition government, which includes the Likud and United Torah Judaism, to launch the appeal for the new bill.

The new bill was sponsored by United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni who has advocated for the preservation of the independence of Haredi education.

“Ben-Gurion pledged that all Jews would be educated in accordance with their lifestyle. He understood that you cannot force any Jew to live untraditionally,” said United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush. “The Knesset operated this way for 65 years until the Yesh Atid bill came along.”

The new bill sparked a significant amount of controversy within both the coalition and the opposition. Although the new legislation was being promoted in coordination with the education minister, the Yisrael Beiteinu party, which is a member of the coalition, refused to participate in the vote on the first reading of the core curriculum bill.

Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy, a member of the opposition, claimed that the ultra-Orthodox parties were effectively “condemning 40,000 students to darkness and poverty.”

“You [religious lawmakers], who are advocating against discrimination and in favor of united Sephardic Judaism, are essentially impeding my fight for the strict sanctioning of racism,” added Yesh Atid MK Meir Cohen.