Guidelines on returning to school from the Education and Health ministries that were slated to be published late Saturday have still not materialized, minutes before the first bell rings, punctuating a process that has beset by allegations of chaotic and rushed decision-making.
Nearly half a million schoolchildren are set to return to their classes today for the first time in seven weeks following an unprecedented shutdown, though confusion about the guidelines and fears of a fresh outbreak of the novel coronavirus mean that many will be spending another day at home.
Elementary schools were given the green light Friday to bring back students in first through third grades, but despite the go-ahead, numerous cities and local authorities said they would delay a return to classrooms amid growing dissatisfaction over the government’s handling of the matter, with unclear rules in place and unanswered questions about technical aspects of the school openings.
Among towns saying they will not open schools today are Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, Haifa, Beersheba, Ramat Hasharon, Bnei Brak, parts of Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, Rehovot, Acre, Ashkelon, Safed, Karmiel, Kiryat Malachi and Kiryat Gat.
Additionally, the entire Arab community will not reopen schools this week at all.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
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