A-G warns haredi schools face funding cuts over core curriculum gaps

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has warned that ultra-Orthodox educational networks risk losing government funding if they fail to meet core curriculum requirements. The warning, issued Friday in response to a High Court petition, highlights "significant gaps" in the institutions' obligation to teach the full curriculum and their inability to supervise and enforce these requirements.

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Education Ministry data point to significant gaps in the network institutions' compliance with their obligation to teach the full core curriculum, as well as failures in the ability to supervise compliance with those obligations and enforce them.

Baharav-Miara stated that continued funding under the "All Israeli Children" principle is conditional on compliance with basic obligations, including teaching the official curriculum, employing qualified staff, participating in measurement and assessment programs, cooperating with supervision, and meeting reporting demands. These conditions apply starting from the current school year.

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Accordingly, the state has determined that continued receipt of funding under the 'All Israeli Children' principle will be conditional on compliance with the basic obligations that apply to the network institutions, including full core curriculum studies as established in the official education curriculum, the employment of teaching staff with appropriate training.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from United Torah Judaism's Degel HaTorah chairman, MK Moshe Gafni. He questioned Baharav-Miara's authority to make such decisions, especially during an election period when the government's actions are restricted. Gafni argued that if the Attorney General can dictate curriculum for haredi children, then all Israeli children should be required to study Jewish tradition, Torah, and Gemara, with funding contingent on compliance.

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Who appointed Baharav-Miara to decide everything in the country according to her own agenda? An elected government is forbidden from making decisions during an election period, the Knesset's ability to legislate is restricted, but a dismissed attorney general is allowed to decide on her own how haredi children will be educated and what they will study?

The issue was brought to the High Court by the Yesh Atid Party in December 2025, which petitioned over budget transfers to ultra-Orthodox institutions. The party claimed the government's decision to establish a ministerial team was an attempt to circumvent core curriculum requirements and bypass Supreme Court rulings and attorney general directives.

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If she wants to dictate what haredi children should learn, then I demand, to the same extent, that all Israeli children study the 613 commandments, Jewish tradition, Torah, Prophets and Writings, and Gemara, and anyone who does not study all of these should not receive funding.