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Photo: Yoav Friedman
Ultra-Orthodox classroon.
Photo: Yoav Friedman

State blames parents in ultra-Orthodox education lawsuit

Adults who grew up in the state-funded ultra-Orthodox education system, which teaches very little regarding non-Torah topics, are suing the state for compensation, as they found themselves unprepared for higher education and the job market; the state seems to be rolling blame over to the plaintiffs' parents.

In a highly unusual legal move, the State of Israel has filed a request for compensation from dozens of parents of former ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews, who were not taught core subjects (such as English and mathematics) in school, and now claim that they have been significantly damaged by their poor general education.

 

 

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector in Israel has an independent education system which teaches very little non-religious topics, and is state-funded. The former ultra-Orthodox students are thus suing the state for allowing them to study under what they claim are inappropriate educational standards.

 

The 52 former ultra-Orthodox plaintiffs claim that what they call a poor education has caused significant damage to their lives, impeding their ability to interweave themselves in society and to find employment.

 

The state, however, is claiming that responsibility for the plaintiffs' ills is to be ascribed to the schools and the plaintiffs' parents. It has even filed a former request to have the plaintiffs' compensation come from the parents themselves, if indeed they are shown to have been damaged by their ultra-Orthodox education.

 

Ultra-Orthodox schools teach almost no mathematics, science, or English. (Archive photo: Getty Images)
Ultra-Orthodox schools teach almost no mathematics, science, or English. (Archive photo: Getty Images)

 

The state claims that it provides education to all children according to the law. It emphasized that, "The plaintiffs, as well as their parents, could have chosen the school that fits their needs, worldview, and way of life from a variety of schools, as they indeed did."

 

"The plaintiffs studied in schools according to their parents' and their own choice," the defense stated, "as far as they are concerned these studies have caused them 'damage' … it is to be expected that they point their claim to their parents or to the schools in which they studied."

 

Shlomo Lecker, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in response to the state's actions that, "In a style that befits a common insurance company, the state is shirking responsibility. It has no obligation to support extra education for those who desire it, and everyone is responsible for the neglect of education accept for it: The plaintiffs who did not choose to 'change frameworks' at age eight, the parents who didn't choose to send (their) children to expensive private education institutions, the yeshivas that are not effectively overseen."

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 04.25.16, 15:27
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