Israel's Top Court Approves Funding for Ultra-Orthodox Schools on Condition
Translated & summarized from Mignews by baba
Israel's High Court of Justice has approved a plan to release 98 million shekels in frozen funds to ultra-Orthodox schools, provided they teach core secular subjects. The ruling, based on a proposal by the government's legal advisor, mandates that schools teach five subjects for at least 75% of state-required hours to receive proportional funding. This is a temporary measure for the 2024/2025 academic year, with deeper disputes over long-term funding and curriculum standards to be addressed later. The case began after petitions challenged the initial approval of 1.1 billion shekels in transfers due to procedural issues and neglect of secular studies.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israel's High Court approved a compromise to release 98 million shekels to ultra-Orthodox schools.
- Schools must teach core secular subjects for at least 75% of state-mandated hours.
- Funding will be proportional to actual teaching hours, with schools below 75% receiving nothing.
- The ruling is a temporary, retroactive measure for the 2024/2025 academic year.
- Deeper disputes over curriculum and funding standards remain for future court review.
- The case stemmed from petitions challenging 1.1 billion shekels in transfers due to procedural flaws.
Israel's High Court of Justice (Bagatz) on Tuesday approved a compromise plan to release frozen funds for ultra-Orthodox school networks. The court ruled that 98 million shekels, frozen earlier in the year, will only be allocated to schools that demonstrably teach core secular subjects. This scheme was developed by the government's legal advisor, Gali Baharav-Miara, and her deputy, Avital Sompolinski.
The court lifted a temporary freeze on the funds and mandated their release according to the proposed mechanism, noting that no party objected to the plan. This decision establishes a precedent that religious educational institutions must adhere to educational standards to receive full state funding. Payments will be retroactive for the 2024/2025 academic year only.
Schools are required to teach five core subjects, Tanakh, Hebrew, English, mathematics, and science, for at least 75% of the hours mandated by the state curriculum. Funding will be proportional to the actual teaching hours for institutions meeting this threshold. Schools falling below 75% will not receive any of the frozen funds, and 31 institutions found to have completely omitted at least one core subject across all age groups will receive no funding at all.
Baharav-Miara emphasized that this is a temporary, retrospective solution for the past academic year. Fundamental disputes regarding the long-term necessity of core secular studies, teacher qualifications, standardized testing, and financial oversight remain unresolved and will be addressed in ongoing court cases.
The case originated from two petitions filed by opposition leader Yair Lapid and members of Yesh Atid, and MK Naama Lazimi along with the Hiddush organization. They challenged a December 2025 decision by the Knesset's finance committee to approve 1.1 billion shekels in transfers to ultra-Orthodox networks. Serious procedural irregularities were revealed, including the transfer of nearly a billion shekels before official committee approval, primarily for salaries. The petitioners argued these transfers were unjustified due to the widespread neglect of secular subjects in ultra-Orthodox schools and the paralysis of state oversight mechanisms. In response, the High Court imposed the temporary freeze on the remaining 98 million shekels.
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