Ultra-Orthodox Schools Halt Classes for Massive Fundraising Drive

An unusual event is scheduled for Wednesday in ultra-Orthodox girls' seminaries, institutions funded by public money and serving grades 9 through 14. At the directive of prominent rabbis, the school day will be interrupted for approximately 25,000 students to participate in a large-scale fundraising campaign.

The funds are intended for the "Torah World Fund," established to financially support yeshivas attended by individuals exempt from military service. This initiative proceeds despite a general prohibition on students soliciting donations within school walls without special permission, and follows a High Court ruling ordering an end to public funding for such institutions.

The Ministry of Education stated it was unaware of the activity and that it had not been coordinated with them. Later, the Association of Seminaries clarified that the activity would only involve grades 13 and 14, and that any violation of procedures would be addressed.

Uri Keidar, CEO of the "Israel Free" movement, criticized the event, calling the ultra-Orthodox partisan education system, funded by taxpayers, an existential threat to Israel. He argued that ultra-Orthodox children deserve a public education that equips them to be citizens, not subjects of an autonomous community. Keidar asserted that the next government must cease funding this system, especially now that it is raising money for draft dodgers at the expense of study time.