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Government to back cancellation of core subjects at ultra-Orthodox schools

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Israel’s government yesterday backed draft legislation which is set to end a requirement for ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools to teach core secular subjects as a condition of public funding.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation backed the bill spearheaded by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ). Around 430,000 Israeli pupils study in ultra-Orthodox educational frameworks, with an overwhelming emphasis on religious law and learning. Around one tenth of this number will be directly impacted by the bill.

During the previous Knesset, a law proposed by the then-coalition party Yesh Atid stipulated that public funding for these institutions would be partly dependent on teaching at least ten weekly hours of subjects such as English, literature, mathematics, nature, and science and technology. It was due to be introduced in 2018.

However, the coalition agreement which brought UTJ into government following last year’s election specified support for cancelling this measure. Senior UTJ MK Moshe Gafni told Haaretz there was “nothing complicated about it, it was included in the coalition agreement,” and that the new law could be expected to be passed by next week. Those who support the UTJ legislation include Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who had previously supported the original Yesh Atid law, but will now decide the extent to which ultra-Orthodox schools must teach core subjects.

Likud’s Minister of Science, Technology, and Space Ofir Akunis left yesterday’s meeting in protest ahead of the vote. He said: “I am for all Israeli children learning English, mathematics, and science. It’s the right and just thing which preserves the children of Israel and the whole state as a ground-breaker and innovator.”

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid accused the government of knowingly “taking away an entire generation’s ability to provide for themselves,” by supporting the draft bill.

The draft legislation approved yesterday comes after legislation also pioneered by Yesh Atid to enrol a larger number of ultra-Orthodox seminary students into the military, was also rolled back.