Schools in northern Israel and the Tel Aviv area will remain closed next week, while schools in other areas of the country may reopen depending on a Saturday security assessment, Education Minister Yoav Kisch said Thursday.
Kisch made the remarks after conducting a situational assessment at the Nahariya Municipality in the North, almost two weeks after schools, daycares, and kindergartens were closed nationwide at the start of Operation Roaring Lion.
Pupils shifted to remote learning amid the ongoing Iranian missile strikes directed toward Israel.
“The situation is quite clear regarding the beginning of next week,” Kisch said after the assessment.
“The entirety of the North and Gush Dan areas under threat will not open, and there will be no studies except for remote learning.”
The opening of schools in other areas will be dependent on whether the Home Front Command grants them the “yellow” lower-risk status, which will be reassessed on Saturday evening.
The Education Ministry has stated that at least 24 hours of advance notice will be given to local authorities, schools, and parents ahead of the return to in-person learning.
As a result, if areas are approved on Saturday night, schools located in the vicinity will open “securely and safely throughout Monday,” Kisch said on Thursday.
Despite the Home Front Command allowing employees to return to their workplaces in person last week, schools across the country have continued to operate in a remote-learning format. The move has sparked outrage from parents and opposition lawmakers, who claim the government is failing to provide an adequate solution for working parents.
The Jerusalem Post on Sunday spoke to a sampling of parents about the challenges involved in taking care of young children while working, with no daycare framework in place.
Beginning next week, the Knesset will be open to broader legislative activity, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announced on Thursday. He has ordered extra halls in the Knesset to be prepared for use as protected spaces. This infrastructure will reportedly allow for MKs to advance some controversial laws that had been set aside after the Knesset temporarily limited non-essential war activities at the start of the war.
Lapid condemns decision to open Knesset to controversial coalition legislation
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) sharply criticized the decision to open the Knesset for broader functioning during wartime, saying that the advancement of controversial coalition legislation would harm unity.
“It cannot be that during wartime, when the public is being asked to show unity and resilience, and when the opposition has fully mobilized for the war effort, the government wants to advance in the Knesset all the laws that divide and tear Israeli society apart,” Lapid stated.
He called on Ohana and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel all non-essential meetings next week. “The Knesset should focus solely on assisting the Israeli public and the security forces during the war.”
Lapid and other opposition politicians have also strongly opposed the government’s current education framework during the war.