Naftali Bennett Unveils Sweeping Plan to Reshape Israel’s Education System
At a briefing for education reporters on Wednesday, Naftali Bennett, former prime minister and former education minister, laid out a broad reform plan for Israel’s school system. The proposal calls for dismantling the current Education Ministry structure, moving to differential funding per student, expanding artificial intelligence in schools, applying core curriculum requirements to all publicly funded institutions, and increasing investment in early childhood education.
Bennett also addressed the current dispute over special education integration, after Teachers Union chair Yaffa Ben-David said she wants no more than two integrated students per class starting next year, compared with 7 to 8 today, and warned of a labor dispute and possible strike. Bennett said every child must receive support, but argued there is now "an inflation that is not logical" in how integration is defined. He said the system must be put in order, noting that many parents now seek the integrated label because it brings benefits, unlike in the past when it carried stigma.
As part of his broader vision, Bennett said he is adopting some conclusions of the Shapira Committee, especially on early childhood investment and reducing class sizes, while also planning more "radical and innovative" steps. He described a major structural overhaul in which the ministry would shift from running schools to setting policy, standards, oversight, and measurement, with more authority moving to schools and local authorities. He said Israel spends about 50,000 shekels per student annually, but too much money goes to bureaucracy rather than children and teachers.
Bennett also proposed ending the current in-between education frameworks, leaving only public state education or private education. Public schools would have to teach a common 60 percent Israeli core, including Hebrew, English, math, civics, Bible, and Zionism, or lose state funding. The remaining 40 percent would be chosen by each community or school. He said he wants to expand state Haredi education through infrastructure and teacher training.
On technology, Bennett said every student should get a personal AI tutor, with the slogan that AI will teach and teachers will educate. He said AI would free teachers to focus on emotional support and life skills rather than information transfer. He also wants most matriculation exams to end in 11th grade, while 12th grade would become a state-funded "compass year" for preparation, military or national service, leadership, and civic identity. The plan includes stronger early childhood supervision, tougher enforcement against illegal day-care settings, incentives for high-standard nurseries, and benefits for reservist families, including free day care for active combat reservists and larger subsidies for reservists and their families. Bennett closed by saying the goal is the biggest education revolution since the state was founded, and he attacked current Education Minister Yoav Kisch as "terrible," accusing him of focusing on primaries, jobs, and media gimmicks rather than education.
