Jerusalem’s professional committee, working with the accompanying rabbinical committee, decided on Sunday to place so-called “sisters” in the city’s major Haredi high schools, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi seminaries. The decision came earlier than expected, ending one of the most sensitive and volatile annual issues in the city’s Haredi education system.
The “sisters placement” issue determines whether a girl may study in the same institution as her older sister. In Haredi families, the decision affects not only schooling but also household continuity, communal affiliation, and social standing. In previous years, delays triggered heavy tensions, legal petitions, and cases in which hundreds of girls stayed home for the first weeks of the school year because of uncertainty or rejection by schools.
Deputy and acting Jerusalem mayor and Haredi education portfolio holder Tzvika Cohen led the process in close coordination with leading rabbis. Committee members reviewed hundreds of difficult cases individually, with the goal of reaching broad solutions and avoiding the familiar late-summer crisis. Officials involved in the work said the early announcement was meant to provide families with stability and peace of mind months before the school year begins.
After signing the agreement, Cohen said, “The issue of sisters’ placement is among the most sensitive and complex in Jerusalem’s education system.” He added, “Behind every name stands a daughter, a whole family, and weighty public responsibility. We acted carefully, under rabbinic guidance and after a thorough review of the data. We cannot always give a full answer to every individual wish, but our duty was to do it with dignity and responsibility so the girls can begin the year with certainty and peace of mind.” City officials view the early decision as a significant achievement and hope it will help the next school year open smoothly, without last-minute public turmoil.
