Smotrich urges parents to send kids back to school, says it won’t affect government stipends

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls on parents who are allowed to do so to send their children back to school following two weeks when classrooms were shuttered due to the Iran war.

He reassures several regional councils in the south that the reopening of schools in their districts will not impact the local residents’ eligibility to receive government stipends meant for those who were prevented from working due to the war.

Beginning today, schools in areas deemed at lower risk from missile fire were allowed to open, provided they have protected areas where students can shelter while under attack from Iran or Hezbollah. Schools elsewhere, including in major cities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, remain closed.

According to the Maariv daily, local governments reached out to Smotrich to express concern that the reopening of schools could negatively impact such benefits, leading the minister to reply in a letter that “the return of students to school will not harm the parents’ economic rights. Their entitlement to compensation is fully preserved.”

He further calls on parents “to send their children to educational institutions, in accordance with the Home Front Command’s instructions, with full confidence that their economic rights are guaranteed and protected.”

Several cities and towns, including the coastal city of Ashkelon, the settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, and the southern city of Dimona, had announced they would not reopen schools today, despite being allowed to do so under Home Front Command guidelines.