Religious Education Forum Urges Minister Kish to Release Delayed Teacher Salaries Ahead of School Year

Less than ten days before the start of the school year, the Religious Education Forum has issued a warning that state religious high schools and girls' seminaries (ulpanot) may be unable to open on time due to continued delays in salary budget allocations for teachers of sacred studies. The forum claims that these funds, intended to pay teachers who have already worked, have been withheld for nearly two years. In an urgent letter addressed to Education Minister Yoav Kish, Education Ministry Director-General Meir Shimoni, and the head of the state religious education administration Rabbi Yoni Samuel, the forum demands immediate intervention with the Supreme Court to secure the release of these budgets.

The letter, signed by Elchanan Gelet, CEO of the Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and Ulpanot Center, and Yinkie Friedman, CEO of the Noam-Tzvia network, stresses that this is not a political issue but a critical financial matter affecting the ability of institutions to cover teacher salaries. Although a portion of withheld funds was released last Friday evening, the budgets specifically allocated for sacred studies teachers in the national-religious education system remain frozen. The forum warns that without these funds, the schools will struggle to open, stating, "All the patience has run out. We will not be able to open the school year."

The forum calls on Minister Kish to present the case urgently before the Supreme Court and to submit an official position from the Education Ministry supporting the release of the funds, based on the legal opinion attached to their letter. They emphasize that the withheld money is for salaries already earned and that expecting educational institutions to bear these costs alone is untenable. The forum concludes that the opening of the school year in religious high schools and seminaries is in serious jeopardy if the funds are not promptly freed.