Lapid says Yesh Atid will demand education portfolio in next government

By Ariela Karmel

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5 February 2026, 3:43 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (left) and Yesh Atid MK Meirav Cohen hold a press conference on the rehabilitation of Israel’s education system in Tel Aviv, on February 5, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid announces at a press conference that his Yesh Atid party will demand the education portfolio in any future government, and will appoint MK Meirav Cohen as education minister.

Elections are set to be held by the end of October.

Lapid and Cohen make the announcement during a press conference in Tel Aviv, unveiling their education platform to “resolve Israel’s education crisis.”

“Our schools need to be the best in the world. They must be funded with the understanding that education is the only thing that can ensure a society with shared values and a shared good. To more than 200,000 education workers in Israel: We entrust you with the most precious thing we have in the world. You deserve better conditions,” says Lapid.

“I see this as a life mission. The education system is the foundation for the repair Israel needs. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift the country from a path of collapse to a path of prosperity,” says Cohen, who previously served as social equality minister under Lapid and Naftali’s Bennett short-lived government in 2021-2022.

The Yesh Atid plan includes allocating NIS 10 billion ($3.2 billion) to raise teachers’ salaries and reduce the average class size to 20 students, below the current average of 27 in elementary school and 30 in high school.

Israel has the second-most crowded classrooms among OECD countries, after Chile, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published in September.

The plan also calls for a complete moratorium on state funding for Haredi educational institutions that do not teach 100% of core curriculum subjects, such as math, science, and English, and for subsidized early childcare for families in which both parents work.

The High Court of Justice is currently hearing petitions filed by Yesh Atid and the Hiddush religious freedom and equality group over the government’s recent transfer of NIS 1 billion ($315 million) to ultra-Orthodox schools, which was implemented without the required deliberations and vote in the Knesset Finance Committee. The High Court since issued an interim order freezing the transfer of funds until a decision is delivered.

Yesh Atid has argued that the transfer is illegal since the ultra-Orthodox schools do not meet their legal obligation to teach the requisite number of hours of core curriculum subjects.