With the threat of a teachers' strike lifted, schools opened their gates across Israel Thursday morning, welcoming 2.5 million children and teens back from summer break.
The opening of the school year was shrouded in uncertainty for weeks as the national teachers' union threatened to launch a strike in a protracted dispute with the finance and education ministries over improved working conditions.
Laborious back-and-forth wrangling went on down to the wire until the sides eventually managed to strike up an agreement Wednesday, thus averting strike action that would have seen the opening of the school year delayed.
At the heart of contention stood the teachers' demand for better pay. Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman has offered significant raises for poorly paid junior teachers but much less for better compensated veteran teachers, all dependent on a restructuring of the education system which would provide increased pay for working longer hours. The teachers' union, for their part, took issue with the proposal and demanded experienced teachers also be given improved pay.
The parties eventually managed to bridge the gaps and ink an agreement, the funds for which are set to be appropriated with the passing of the next state budget.
Touring schools in Gaza Strip border towns, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said he was very satisfied with the new deal and voiced great optimism for the coming school year.
"There is no doubt there is nothing more pleasing than seeing people arrive at schools. Everyone is smiling, and I am happy that I contributed something to see those smiles in the morning," he said.
"The agreement runs until 2026. In other words, we will no longer have to ask 'will the school year open or not'. This peace of mind will also allow the education system to focus on content rather than argue about salaries."
As is tradition, the first day of school will be dedicated to festive ceremonies and meeting with friends and teachers.
According to Education Ministry data, some 2,496,000 students opened the school year Thursday morning, 544,000 of them in preschools, 1,140,000 in elementary schools, 325,000 in middle schools, and 488,000 in high schools.
Some 218,000 education workers returned to work on Thursday at 5,440 schools and 22,050 kindergartens nationwide.