Religious Education Chief Warns Supreme Court Petition Could Disrupt Hundreds of Thousands of Students’ School Year
Elhanan Gelt, CEO of Bnei Akiva Yeshivas and Ulpanot and a representative of the Religious Education Forum, has issued a warning that a petition filed by left-wing organizations to Israel’s Supreme Court could destabilize the state-religious education system and delay millions of shekels in funding for schools. With less than two weeks before the new school year begins, Gelt described the situation as one of the most sensitive and significant challenges faced by the sector in recent years.
The petition challenges the budget allocations for state-religious education institutions, including yeshivas, girls’ religious high schools, and state-religious schools nationwide. Gelt stressed that this is a real threat but also a historic opportunity for Education Minister Yoav Kish to finally regulate the funding framework for these institutions. He explained that for years, hundreds of millions of shekels have been transferred through an irregular mechanism, often delayed by legal and bureaucratic hurdles, with funds only released after prolonged struggles.
This year, the delays are particularly severe, with the Supreme Court holding back part of the budgets, raising serious concerns about the ability to open schools on time. Gelt emphasized that the demand is not for additional funds but for formalizing the existing budget into the regular state budget, removing dependence on coalition agreements and repeated delays. Such regulation would also address the ongoing growth in student numbers and the opening of new institutions.
The petition’s core argument is based on equality, claiming there is no justification for extra budget allocations to state-religious education that are not given to secular state schools. Gelt rejected this, explaining that the additional funding supports unique aspects of religious education, such as religious studies, prayer, strengthening Jewish identity, value-based activities, operating small institutions in peripheral areas, and maintaining separate frameworks for boys and girls. He said, "Equality does not mean erasure," and these budgets are essential to the distinctive character of the state-religious education path.
Gelt warned that if the petition is accepted, it could lead to the cancellation of designated budgets and harm the unique nature of state-religious education. However, he also sees this crisis as a rare chance for Minister Kish to end the ongoing saga by permanently embedding these budgets into the state budget. He called on parents of students in the sector to be proactive and engaged, stressing the importance of this fight for the future of Jewish, Zionist, and value-based education. With the school year about to start and the month of Elul underway, Gelt concluded that the decision made now could shape the future of state-religious education for generations.
