Education Ministry district chief summoned to dismissal hearing after clash over ultra-Orthodox school funding

Shai Kalderon, head of the ultra-Orthodox district in Israel’s Education Ministry, has been summoned to a pre-dismissal hearing. According to a report published Thursday by Yeoeli Brim, the move followed months of intense political pressure from senior ultra-Orthodox party leaders, Aryeh Deri, Moshe Gafni and Haim Biton, on Education Minister Yoav Kish to remove Kalderon immediately and replace him with someone who would give them full freedom of action in the school networks.

Kalderon has been seen inside the ministry as an unusual official who was the first to openly confront the political education systems run by Shas and Degel HaTorah. He enforced core curriculum requirements strictly, exposed what he said were massive state payments for math and English instruction that were never actually taught, demanded repayment of public funds, shut down noncompliant institutions and opened state-ultra-Orthodox, or Mamlachti Haredi, schools with full core studies. He also acted against racism and ethnic discrimination in ultra-Orthodox seminaries.

The confrontation escalated after opposition lawmakers Moshe Kinly Turgeman and Naama Lazimi exposed large-scale misappropriation of funds in the school networks, leading the High Court to freeze significant funding. When the petitions reached the Supreme Court, Kalderon did not align himself with the political leadership, instead presenting the factual situation, acknowledging the serious failures and refusing to back the ultra-Orthodox power brokers. That stance, ironically, was cited as the formal reason for his hearing.

Sources in the ministry said the hearing letter argues that because the High Court accepted the petitions and sharply criticized the ministry’s conduct, that proves Kalderon is not doing his job. Officials inside the system say the claim is the opposite of reality and is meant to hide the real reason, which they say is Kish’s surrender to ultra-Orthodox political pressure. The ministry’s legal adviser opposes the dismissal, warning it would be politically improper and difficult to defend in court. The ministry said it does not comment on individual personnel matters, and Kish did not respond.