Former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch says she will run to become Israel's next education minister

Dr. Aliza Bloch, the former mayor of Beit Shemesh, has announced she is entering national politics and intends to run for education minister in the upcoming elections. She said strengthening education is essential to national security, equal burden-sharing, and reducing social gaps in Israel, adding, "I will be the next education minister of the State of Israel."

Bloch argued that Israel focuses on three military fronts while neglecting a fourth, the education system. In her words, schools are deteriorating, inequalities are widening, and the next generation is paying the price. She said education is a foundation for security, the economy, equal service, and national resilience, and called for real investment in the periphery rather than just talking about it. She also said Israel needs an education system that can function in emergencies, maintain continuity, identify students who need help, and support teachers, warning, "We cannot prevent every war, every crisis or every pandemic, and we also cannot accept a situation in which the education system is surprised every time again."

Bloch said that during her tenure in Beit Shemesh she expanded state Haredi education frameworks, seeking a balance between preserving Haredi identity and integrating students into study, work and military or national service. She said the issue of equal burden-sharing begins in schools and in children's sense of belonging from an early age.

Since the war began, she said, she has been working to strengthen education in Kiryat Shmona and northern Israel. In her role as president of YASA, she is also advancing educational initiatives including excellence centers and a high school for gifted and outstanding students, in cooperation with the Education Ministry and the mayor of Netivot. Bloch said excellence should not be reserved for children in central Israel, insisting that a child in Kiryat Shmona or Netivot must receive the same opportunity as a child in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.