Education in northern Israel is no longer what it used to be. While much of the public discussion has focused on reconstruction, compensation and infrastructure, another important transformation has quietly been taking place.
A partnership between the Ministry of Education, local authorities, regional clusters, academia and civil society organizations is creating a new educational model centered on excellence, expanding opportunities and personal development. Today, more and more children and teenagers have access to programs, specialized tracks and fields of study that were once beyond their reach. If this continues, we will be moving in the right direction.
But there is still a long way to go, and further action is needed to ensure that every child in northern Israel has access to these opportunities. This may be the most important development for the future of the Galilee. In the end, the question is not only how to rebuild northern Israel, but how to make it a place where families choose to build their lives for generations to come.
At Homeward/Habaita, we asked ourselves what would encourage families not only to return to northern Israel and the Gaza border region, but also to build their future there. Again and again, we reached the same conclusion: alongside security, employment and infrastructure, education is one of the most important factors shaping that decision.
That conviction has guided our philanthropic investments ever since, supporting educational initiatives that expand opportunities for children and strengthen communities across the region.
The months of evacuation only reinforced this understanding. Thousands of families from the Galilee experienced different education systems, exposing their children to opportunities that had previously been beyond their reach. As they return home, they are no longer willing to settle for less and rightly so.
This is why the challenge facing northern Israel goes beyond bringing residents back. It requires building a future that is better than the one that existed before the war. In recent years, the region has seen significant growth in employment, industry and innovation. Now it is time for education to become a central pillar of that progress.
A high-quality education system does more than provide knowledge. It creates opportunity. It attracts families, strengthens communities, brings together local authorities, academia and industry, and gives young people a real reason to build their future in the region.
That is why the vision for northern Israel is not to build more schools, but to create a regional network of excellence. The goal is to ensure that a girl from Kiryat Shmona, a boy from Shlomi or a student from a small community in the Galilee has access to opportunities in science, technology, the arts, sports and innovation, even if they are available in a neighboring municipality. Instead of expecting every local authority to develop every program on its own, regional cooperation enables communities to share resources, expertise and talent, offering opportunities that no single authority could provide on its own.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen this vision begin to take shape. The Ministry of Education has approved a NIS 88 million budget for the next four years to establish regional centers of excellence across the eastern and western Galilee. The initiative was led by Dr. Orna Simchon, head of the Ministry of Education's Northern District, together with our partners in the Jewish Federations in the United States and Canada. At Homeward/Habaita, we were proud to play a part in advancing this important initiative.
The funding is important, but its significance goes far beyond the amount itself. This is more than a budget allocation; it represents a fundamental shift in approach. It marks a transition from a system in which each local authority operates independently to a regional model designed to make educational excellence accessible to every child, regardless of where they live.
This decision is the result of months of collaboration between the Ministry of Education, local authorities, regional clusters, Tel-Hai College and other partners. For us at Homeward/Habaita, it also demonstrates the role philanthropy can play: identifying a need, developing a model, bringing partners together and enabling the government to adopt and scale it.
But the true measure of success will not be determined in a year, or even two.
It will come a decade from now.
Will northern Israel remain a region that young people leave behind, or will it become a place that attracts new families? Will a child born in the Galilee grow up believing they must move to central Israel to fulfill their potential, or knowing that the same opportunities exist close to home?
These are the questions that will determine the future of northern Israel.
For years, we have viewed education as a public service. It is time to recognize it as the foundation of northern Israel's future.
Because in the end, the future of the Galilee will not be determined solely by the number of homes we build or the roads we repair. It will be determined by a far simpler question: Will families believe this is the best place to raise their children?
Sigal Moran is CEO of Homeward/Habaita, a philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting demographic growth in the Gaza border region and the Galilee by strengthening education.