The Education Ministry announced Saturday that school throughout the country will operate as usual, despite the possibility of a US attack on neighboring Syria.
Ministry Director General Dalit Stauber advised students not to bring their gas masks and protection kits to their educational facilities.
In a statement issued by the ministry, Stauber added that Israeli schools are sufficiently prepared to operate even during a state of emergency.
With the US threatening to attack Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons, Israel fears Damascus may respond by firing missiles at Israel, a close American ally. Israeli officials have sought to distance themselves from Syria’s standoff with the West and believe the chances of a Syrian strike remain slim.
But the country has prepared itself nonetheless. It has called up reservists and deployed missile defense batteries in the northern part of the country. The military said Saturday the deployment has now extended to the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Large crowds have also gathered at gas-mask distribution centers across the country, waiting in long lines for protection kits.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
