Michal Chernovitzky Wins 2025 Quality Government Award for Advancing State-Run Haredi Education Stream
Michal Chernovitzky will receive the 2025 Quality Government Award for establishing the state-run Haredi education stream (Memach), which integrates core curriculum studies while respecting Haredi lifestyle. Chernovitzky, who was surprised by the honor, explained that Memach offers equal educational opportunities to Haredi children, aiming to close gaps caused by the previously private, often politically affiliated Haredi schools that excluded core subjects like math and English.
The initiative began in 2013 when then-Education Minister Shai Piron invited Chernovitzky and other Haredi education activists to discuss introducing core studies into Haredi education. The idea quickly gained traction, launching 17 schools and two kindergartens that year. Today, Memach includes 120 schools and 400 kindergartens, with hopes that 50-70% of Haredi students will eventually enroll.
Chernovitzky noted initial skepticism within the Haredi community but said surveys show broad support, even among conservative groups, as most want their children to gain tools for workforce integration. The movement has attracted students from various Haredi streams, including Hasidic groups like Belz, which recently transferred all its schools to Memach.
She works through the Berl Katznelson Foundation to promote infrastructure development, teacher training, and integrated education. However, she highlighted challenges with municipal cooperation and called for legislative reform to include Haredi education within the official state education law, emphasizing that dismantling private Haredi education is essential for systemic change.
Chernovitzky, from a modern Lithuanian Haredi community, said she has received both criticism and support. Her own children attend Memach schools, and she shared a personal anecdote about the importance of this education stream in enabling activism against sexual abuse within the community. She concluded with advice she values: "Not everything depends only on you."
