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Education Ministry

Children arrive for the first day of school in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, September 1, 2025. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)
September 8, 2026, 5:48 pm
Israel plummets to worst-ever OECD education scores in math, reading, science
Drop seen in all three skills compared to previous assessment in 2022; country descends to 33rd among developed countries; minister blames war conditions at time of 2025 testing
By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff
Children arrive for their first day of the new school year at Shahar Eshkol Elementary School in the Eshkol Regional Council, near the Gaza border in southern Israel, September 1, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
September 1, 2026, 1:04 pm
2.6 million students return to school amid teacher shortages, systemic challenges
Over 20,000 students head to class in Gaza border towns, 9% more than in Sept. 2023; police secure Jerusalem school targeted by Haredi extremists; East Jerusalem private schools strike over restrictions on teachers from West Bank
By ToI Staff, Sue Surkes, Nurit Yohanan and Diana Bletter
Children return to school following the ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah at Gamla Primary School in Katzrin, Golan Heights, April 19, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
August 25, 2026, 8:53 am
Nearly 90% of Israeli parents say their kids’ education was harmed by Iran war – poll
Ahead of new school year, parents say 80% of children were hurt emotionally, 74% socially; however, 63% of Haredi families say kids not harmed by war; country short 30,871 teachers
By ToI Staff
The arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport on August 20, 2026, during a shutdown. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)
August 24, 2026, 6:17 am
Airport chaos shows Israel’s public sector collapsing under the weight of political cronyism
The bedlam at Ben Gurion was not a sudden failure, but the inevitable result of a system hollowed out by nepotism, sham tenders, and political loyalists. And the rot extends across public service
By Eran Hildesheim
File: Ultra-Orthodox children on the first day of school in Neve Yaakov in Jerusalem, August 9, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/File)
August 3, 2026, 6:42 pm
State reportedly not cutting funds to Haredi schools that fail to teach core subjects
Despite parliamentary recess, Knesset Finance Committee to meet on Tuesday to approve hundreds of millions of additional taxpayer shekels for ultra-Orthodox education
By Sam Sokol
Ultra-Orthodox children in their classroom at a Heder in Jerusalem, August 25, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
June 29, 2026, 2:43 pm
High Court tells state to launch speedy probe into underfunding of secular public schools
Petition says religious state schools receive higher share of funds than secular and Arab-sector schools; Education Ministry acknowledges gap but disputes discrimination
By ToI Staff
Education Minister Yoav Kisch (left of center) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right of center) sit with students at the Dekel Vilnai Middle School in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank, to launch an AI-powered English language program on June 11, 2026. (Haim Zach / GPO)
June 21, 2026, 10:40 am
With massive teacher shortages, Israel plans on teaching English to middle schoolers through AI
PM and education minister announce national program to move English lessons on screens. Since 40% of 19,000 English teachers don’t have training, could AI do much worse?
By Rossella Tercatin
Illustrative: Israeli children, parents and staff clean at "Gan Nitzan" in Givatayim, as schools and kindergartens are due to re-open after being closed for more than a month due to the war with Iran, April 08, 2026. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
June 8, 2026, 1:19 pm
Schools to reopen Tuesday, after students kept home for a day due to missile fire
Parents scrambled Monday as classrooms closed, but workplaces opened after attacks from Iran, Houthis; State Comptroller’s audit had said some 40% of schools lack proper shelter
By Rossella Tercatin and Emanuel Fabian
View of the Education Ministry Offices in Jerusalem, September 29, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 21, 2026, 9:05 pm
Education Ministry said monitoring posts of employees who criticize government
Ministry’s ‘Incitement Committee’ has compiled reports on 160 employees over their political expression, 52 of whom have been subject to disciplinary action, Haaretz reports
By Charlie Summers
Illustrative photo of Israeli high school students taking an exam, in Tel Aviv on June 29, 2020. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
May 1, 2026, 12:33 am
Only 22% of Israeli 9th graders met English requirements in latest tests, sparking alarm
Only 9% of 9th-graders at Arabic-speaking schools met English standards, compared to 27% in Hebrew-speaking system; English taught less overall, with schools facing teacher shortage
By ToI Staff
A joint memorial ceremony for bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families held in Tel Aviv in 2025, with the inscription saying both in Hebrew and in Arabic: 'We, who lost our dearest of all, choose to stand, mourn and remember together. And as we do every year, we call for the end of violence and the search for a diplomatic solution that will secure freedom, justice and safety for all.' (Gilli Getz)
April 21, 2026, 3:59 pm
‘Blood only begets blood’: Why these bereaved Oct. 7 families still choose coexistence
Despite facing a hostile public atmosphere, some relatives of Hamas victims battle alongside Palestinian peace activists for political change, finding solace in dialogue
By Omer Sharvit
Education Minister Yoav Kisch visits a school in Rishon Lezion as children return to classes following a ceasefire with Iran, April 9, 2026. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
April 9, 2026, 3:20 pm
Summer school programs to be extended after weeks of wartime closures
Activities for elementary students to run 3 extra weeks, expand till 6th grade, says Education Ministry; middle school catch-up plan seeks to address gaps caused by Iran conflict
By Ariela Karmel
Illustrative: Israeli children, parents and staff clean at "Gan Nitzan" in Givatayim, as schools and kindergartens are due to re-open after being closed for more than a month due to the war with Iran, April 08, 2026. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
April 8, 2026, 11:33 pm
Schools reopen across most of Israel as wartime restrictions ease
Closures remain in place in northern Israel due to threat of Hezbollah rockets, and IDF warns rocket fire could still target center of country or even further south
By Emanuel Fabian and Charlie Summers
Parents pick up their children at the end of the school day at an elementary school in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council after the army and Education Ministry approved the partial resumption of studies in areas where the risk of missile fire is relatively low and schools have protected spaces, March 16, 2026.(Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
April 7, 2026, 12:44 pm
Schools set to partially reopen Sunday, subject to IDF guidelines
Lower-risk areas to alternate between in-person and remote learning, with 30 to 50 percent of the students attending classes in person at a time, if there’s shelter nearby
By ToI Staff and Rossella Tercatin
Parents pick up their children at the end of the school day at an elementary school in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council after the Home Front Command and the Education Ministry approved the resumption of studies in local authorities where the risk of rocket fire is relatively low and schools have protected spaces, March 16, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/FLASH90)
April 6, 2026, 6:41 pm
Education minister says wartime school limitations will likely be extended
PM and top cabinet ministers to meet on possibilities for reopening education system; move dependent on assessment by IDF Home Front of Iranian missile fire threat
By Rossella Tercatin
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