Education Ministry's Jewish culture program to be expanded
The Ministry of Education expands the current program to grades 3, 4 and 9; it is designed to provide a deeper connection to Jewish heritage and identity.
The renewed education program for Israeli public schools, called Jewish and Israeli Culture, presented on Wednesday, will be expanded to include the third, fourth and ninth grades.
The Israeli culture subject committee headed by Prof. Ron Margolin presented the expanded program to Education's Ministry Director General Michal Cohen. Up to now, the program has been taught in grades 5 to 8, but starting from the next school year, it will be extended and will be allocated a total of five hours a week to grades 3-6 and grades 7-9. These hours will be allocated to the different age groups at the discretion of school principals.
A special program was designed for grades 1 and 2, and it is the principal's decision whether or not to teach these classes. It should be noted that in contrast to the grades 3 to 9, where the program is mandatory, it is not mandatory in grades 1 and 2.
The program includes familiarity with Jewish literature and will focus on several areas: Engaging individuals, families, the community, the State of Israel, the Jewish people in the Diaspora and all mankind. During the program students will be exposed to proverbs, aggada (folklore and historical anecdotes – ed.) and poetry, as well as familiarity with people such as Maimonides, Ibn Gabirol, Rachel The Poetess, and Chaim Nachman Bialik.
According to the Ministry's plan, the guiding principle of grade 1 will be "Love thy neighbor as thyself", in grade 2 - honoring one's parents and family, in grade 3 - social bonding and leadership, in grade 4 - mutual responsibility, in grade 5 – a bond to the land of Israel, in grade 6 - tradition and innovation, in grade 7 - responsibility and involvement, in grade 8 – tikkun olam ("repair of the world." -ed.) and in grade 9 - the value of life, human liberty, and dignity.
The Ministry of Education pointed out that the program is designed to expose the students to "a multi-faceted Jewish world while showing its relevance to their lives in the broader Israeli context. The program will provide broad and deep knowledge, rich experiences and a variety of innovative tools to develop the personalities and identities of students as Jews, Israelis and as human beings. In addition, it will deepen their ability to hold an attentive and respectful dialogue with the varied and diverse identities that exist in Israeli society. "
All the ministers of education in recent years have sought to modify and expand the study of the Jewish heritage and identity among Israeli students. In 1994, the ministry began to talk about the need for more Jewish studies within the public school system.
In 2009, then-Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, worked hard on expanding Jewish studies, initiating the program known as Israeli Culture and Heritage, which was expanded to grades 5 and 8. Within the framework of the program, it was decided that the students would be obliged to fully study the weekly Torah portion in grade 6, the prayer book in grade 7, and the Mishnah called Pirkei Avot in grade 8.
The program was extended to include student trips to the City of David site in Jerusalem, as well as Hebron and Tel Shilo. Former Education Minister Shai Piron also made it clear that there is a need to expand the program at the time.
