Coalition of Education Experts and Local Leaders Forms to Rescue Israel’s Public Education System

Ahead of the upcoming elections, dozens of education experts, local government heads, and organizational leaders announced the formation of a coalition aimed at saving Israel’s public education system. The coalition’s goals include prioritizing education in the public and political agenda, demanding all political parties commit to strengthening the public education system, and presenting qualified candidates for the education minister position. They also call on the next government to establish a public education council to act as a buffer between the ministry and the education system, similar to the existing council for state-religious education, and to equalize budgets between the public and state-religious education streams.

The coalition was formed in response to an ongoing crisis characterized by declining student achievements, a growing shortage of educators, widening gaps between central and peripheral regions and among education streams, rising youth violence, diminished status of education professionals, and eroding public trust in the system. Dr. Michal Tavivian Mizrahi, CEO and founder of the Manor Center and former deputy director of planning and strategy at the Ministry of Education, emphasized that the crisis is not inevitable but the result of years of neglect. Rami Hod, CEO of the Berl Katznelson Foundation’s think tank, criticized the previous government for exacerbating the neglect and stressed the need for a policy reversal.

During and after the election campaign, the coalition plans to keep education at the forefront of public discourse by publishing research, data, and policy papers, and hosting conferences and public events. Their demands include presenting qualified candidates for the education portfolio, establishing national councils for public and Hebrew public education, ensuring budget equality across education streams, and investing in education staff and management.

Key coalition members include Rotem Yedlin, chair of the Education Committee and head of the Gezer Regional Council; Shirly Rimon Bracha, CEO of the Next Generation Foundation and former head of Tel Aviv’s Education Administration; and Ariel Levy, CEO of the Council for Hebrew Public Education. Other partners include Noam Bar Levi, CEO of the Forum of Liberal Authorities; Itamar Kramer, director of the Public Education Guard; and Professor Manuel Trachtenberg. Several local leaders also joined, including Ran Konik (Givatayim), Yariv Fisher (Herzliya), Ido Greenblum (Kiryat Tivon), Lizzy Delericha (Ganei Tikva), Rafik Halabi (Daliyat al-Karmel), and Idan Greenbaum (Jordan Valley Regional Council).