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
A new poll published Monday found that close to 90 percent of Israeli parents feel their children’s education was hurt by the Iran war, during which school was closed for more than a month due to the threat of missile fire.
In addition, 77% of students who experienced class cancellations due to teacher shortages suffered severe harm to their education, compared to 33% of those who did not experience such cancellations, the poll (Hebrew) said, which was reported by the Walla news site.
More than 80% of parents say their children were hurt emotionally during the war, while 74% say they were hurt socially, the poll said.
By contrast, 63% of Haredi families say their children were not hurt socially by the war, according to Walla.
Schools were ordered closed at the beginning of the war on February 28, and reopened only after the end of Passover in April.
Only 22.4% were satisfied with the Education Ministry’s conduct during the war, the report said.
The poll was conducted by the Geocartography Knowledge Group. Walla did not give details about the methodology.
The results came amid mounting concerns over Israel’s education system, as students have faced repeated closures since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and teachers’ strikes, and more so since 2023 due to ongoing wars.
The country also faces a massive shortage of 30,871 teachers ahead of the 2026-27 school year, set to begin on September 1, The Marker reported on Sunday, citing data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Results published earlier this year from exams taken in 2025 also drove up anxieties over the quality of the country’s education system.
They showed that only 22% of Israeli ninth graders met the requirements of the English language curriculum. In tests in their mother tongue, only 38% of ninth graders met the requirements — 19% of students at Arabic-speaking schools and 44% in Hebrew-speaking schools.
According to data reported by Channel 12 in June, 15 days of school were disrupted at elementary schools, and 22 in secondary schools across the country in the recent school year.
The disruptions were more serious in northern border communities, with 36 disrupted days for elementary schools and 53 for secondary schools.
In the Gaza border communities, 27 days were disrupted for elementary schools and 40 for secondary schools.