Pupils visiting Jerusalem to double

Education Ministry unveils "We're Going Up to Jerusalem" plan.

By BEN HARTMAN
Jerusalem 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Jerusalem 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The Education Ministry has announced plans to invest NIS 15 million over the school year to increase the number of students visiting Jerusalem on school trips.
The plan “We’re Going Up to Jerusalem” (Na’aleh l’yerushalayim) was unveiled last week as part of Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s proposals for the school year.
The ministry said the increased investment has already more than doubled the number of students visiting Jerusalem – a total it expects will reach more than 500,000 pupils by the end of the school year.
The programs will be divided into three age-specific groups, and are part of the Israeli core curriculum’s emphasis on “awareness of the state of Israel, and love of the motherland.”
Sa’ar has also ordered his ministry to increase the number of students taking part in “Israeli Journey,” a six-day school field-trip program which the ministry says is devoted to “strengthen students’ Zionist and Jewish identity,” as well as “strengthening students’ connection to [the] people, land, and the State of Israel.” Roughly 15,000 students are expected to take part in the program this year – as opposed to 9,000 last year.
The ministry’s goal is to increase the number of students taking part in the program to 18,000. It has invested NIS 10m. toward this goal.
The six-day field trip include visits to historical sites across Israel – which focus on the history of the Jewish people from the days of the Bible, through the founding of the state, to the present day.
The students carry a Bible and a map, meet local leaders and camp-out in nature. They are also expected to take part in volunteer efforts during the trip to help residents of the periphery.