Schools throughout the country will continue functioning in a remote learning format on Sunday amid Israel’s ongoing Operation Roaring Lion against Iran, the Education Ministry announced on Thursday.
The decision to keep studies remote on Sunday was made despite the Home Front Command’s loosening of restrictions, which allowed employees to return to workplaces in person as of Thursday afternoon.
Schools shifted to remote learning amid the ongoing Iranian missile strikes directed toward Israel.
Opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the government on Thursday for beginning to reopen workplaces without synchronizing the move with the return of students to schools.
The learning framework for schools after Sunday will still be determined according to the situation assessment and updated guidelines to be issued Saturday night, the Education Ministry stated.
If restrictions are eased, various models for reopening schools for in-person learning will be made in accordance with the limitations and guidelines, the ministry added.
The ministry also stated that at least 24 hours of preparation time will be provided to local authorities, schools, and parents ahead of the return to in-person learning.
Iran war's toll on the economy
On Wednesday, the Finance Ministry called for urgent loosening of current restrictions on economic activity, citing the toll the shutdown of workplaces was taking on the country’s economy.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said it was "unacceptable that the Education Ministry is not coordinated with the Finance Ministry and local authorities."
"The situation is particularly severe in special education, where there is no response for children and young people with special needs,” Lapid added.
The opposition leader stated that government ministries were failing to provide citizens with an adequate response during the war.
Following the Education Ministry’s announcement to continue with remote learning on Sunday, Lapid said the move was “a mistake.”
“We saw today that it is impossible to reopen the economy while leaving the children behind. What the government needs to do is work in cooperation with local authorities and allow each authority to make decisions according to its level of protective infrastructure, in coordination with the Home Front Command,” he stated.
On Thursday, MK Naama Lazimi (The Democrats) sent an appeal to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the new Home Front Command guidelines, which she said do not support working parents.
“This is an outrageous disconnect. The decision to allow a return to workplaces while the education system remains closed is a decree that the working public cannot bear,” she stated.
“While many parents are forced to stay home with their children due to the emergency, the state defines the economy as ‘open’ in order to remove from itself the responsibility to pay compensation.”
“It is unacceptable to run the Israeli economy on the backs of working parents without providing them with a minimal safety net,” she added