Israel to invest $59 million in Diaspora Jewish education

The government has unanimously approved a NIS 200 million ($59 million) national initiative aimed at expanding Jewish education in the Diaspora, the Prime Minister’s Office and Diaspora Affairs Ministry say in a joint statement.

The program, to be led jointly by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, will seek to strengthen Jewish identity, deepen ties to Israel and increase enrollment in formal Jewish educational institutions, particularly in North America. The government sees global Jewish education as “a strategic goal of paramount national importance,” especially in light of increasing antisemitism since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Only a small portion of the 1.8 million Jewish school-age children living in the United States receive a Jewish education, according to the joint statement. The initiative will address barriers including high tuition costs, limited geographic access, and insufficient support for students with learning disabilities, as well as developing new digital tools, it explained.

The program will be implemented in partnership with major Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the statement says.

It follows a similar collaboration between the Diaspora Affairs Ministry and JFNA, known as Project Aleph Bet, focusing on increasing enrollment and improving educational quality at Jewish day schools and early childhood centers in North America.