Israel’s Ministry of Education: Spineless Enforcement Lets Haredi Boys’ Schools Skip Core Curriculum With Impunity.

For over a decade, Israel’s Ministry of Education has demanded that ultra-Orthodox boys’ schools teach the core curriculum—math, science, languages—essential to prepare students for real-life integration into Israeli society and the workforce. On paper, these schools are obligated to teach between 55% to 100% of the state’s core curriculum, depending on their funding structure.

In reality? They don’t. And nothing happens.

The Numbers Don’t Lie—But the Enforcement is a Joke

A comprehensive review of the 2013/14–2023/24 school years exposes a shocking pattern of inaction:

• Only 6% of ultra-Orthodox boys’ schools faced any budget cuts in 2023/24 for skipping core subjects—despite clear evidence that many do so.

• The average penalty is a laughable 6% of funding, about 225,000 NIS per school—small change in an education budget.

• Even this tiny slap on the wrist has shrunk over the years: average deductions dropped from 72 weekly hours in 2013/14 to just 32 in 2023/24.

  State turns blind eye as Haredi schools sidestep core curriculum, study reveals https://t.co/qEHHppIH8q

  — The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) July 3, 2025

Half of Haredi Boys Get Zero Enforcement, Ever

It gets worse. Nearly half of all Haredi boys attend “exempt” or “recognized but unofficial” schools, which receive partial government funding but operate outside typical state school requirements.

These schools are technically obligated to teach 55% to 75% of the core curriculum, yet the Ministry never enforces these standards on them. Enforcement only occurs in Network Schools—the minority receiving full state funding—while the rest coast along untouched.

Geographic Gaps Reveal the Politics Behind the Inaction

Curiously, budget penalties are more common in Israel’s periphery, especially the South, while schools in the ideological Haredi strongholds of central Israel avoid sanctions. Is it a logistical challenge—or fear of political backlash in areas where Haredi parties wield significant power?

Haredi frens, feel free to point out where I'm wrong.

I believe the Haredi world will at some point come around and make learning advanced tech and science a normal thing instead of a weird fringe aberration, but there will have to be big ideological changes. https://t.co/RNtAdcuBB5

— PolicyRespecter (@oteycoueye) July 2, 2025

Repeat Offenders with No Real Consequences

Among the few schools that were penalized:

• 82% were penalized multiple times across the 11 years examined.

• 10% faced penalties in all 11 years.

Yet, despite being serial violators, these schools continue operating as if the rules don’t apply to them—because, evidently, they don’t.

Diaspora fundraising is meant to compensate for govt funding of haredi yeshivas cut off last year after Israel’s High Court ruled the blanket draft exemption covering all haredi yeshiva students is inequitable and therefore illegal. https://t.co/ES3ww2HtgB

— Shmarya Rosenberg (@Shmarya) June 28, 2025

The Ministry Refuses to Use Its Strongest Tool

The Ministry of Education has the legal authority to revoke recognition from institutions that systematically violate core curriculum obligations—a move that would hit non-compliant schools hard by cutting off funding.

But in 11 years, it has never used this authority.

Recent Case: Government Caves to Haredi Pressure—Again

The Ministry’s spineless approach was on full display during the recent war with Iran. Education Minister Yoav Kisch initially ordered the closure of 80 ultra-Orthodox schools defying IDF Home Front Command safety orders, citing the risk to children and staff.

Haredi lawmakers, led by Shas minister Haim Biton, threw a tantrum.

Within hours, Kisch’s “firm” closure orders were downgraded to a “final warning.” The schools stayed open, ignoring safety regulations in a time of war, and faced zero real consequences.

Under the order of the IDF Home Front Command, the war with Iran abruptly ended the school year for most students in Israel – but not for many Haredi schools. Under the directive of the Haredi leader Rabbi Dov Lando, in-person learning continued through the twelve days of war.… pic.twitter.com/Y1g699UOEd

— Israel Democracy Institute (@IDIisrael) July 1, 2025

Conclusion: A Broken System by Design

Israel’s Ministry of Education talks tough about universal education standards while consistently caving to Haredi political pressure. As a result:

✅ Tens of thousands of Haredi boys leave school without the basic tools needed for modern Israeli life.
✅ Taxpayers continue to fund schools that openly defy the law.
✅ A generation is being systematically denied opportunities for independence, economic contribution, and integration.

The state’s refusal to enforce its own curriculum laws—even in the face of repeated violations and life-threatening safety breaches—makes one thing clear:

For Israel’s ultra-Orthodox boys’ schools, the “core curriculum” is optional—and the Ministry of Education has made sure it stays that way.