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Gender Separation in Religious Schools

September 5, 2010 by 27 Comments
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The Shabbat alon Matzav Haruach published an article by Neemanei Torah ve-Avoda. The liberal Orthodox group connected with the religious kibbutz movement wants to return to mixed-gender classes in religious elementary schools. Actually article is not really the correct term, as it was more of a polemic, presenting the other side of the argument in order to knock it down. The article claimed that separating children by gender handicaps children from understanding each other, leading to problems with dating and marriage. The gender separation also contributes to the "haredization" of the religious Zionist society. The educators quoted in the article continue to favor separation in high … [Read more...]

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Back-to School Shopping

September 3, 2010 by 18 Comments
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I know we're already deep into Rosh Hashanah and, unfortunately, politics and terror, but I hope it's not too late to share this picture from one of my visits to the bookstore to amass the required materials. While the owner of the store was ringing up my purchase, someone called looking for a phone number. The owner scanned the store. "Penina," she said to a customer. Do you have this number? Penina did.The owner tossed her daughter one phone and Penina tossed her the other. Presumably the third one belongs to the daughter. A second daughter had her arm in a sling, but that didn't stop her from "slinging" our NIS 900 book order from one counter to another. Most … [Read more...]

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Emanuel Bet Yaakov Retains License but Loses Funding

August 27, 2010 by 2 Comments

The court had required a compromise by August 25. I didn't believe it would happen. But the educational ministry has ruled that the Bet Yaakov Hasidi, the girls' school in Emanuel that refused to admit a group of children of sephardi background, will retain its license but lose all government funding. After one year, requests for funding will be considered. Representatives of both sides, interviewed by Haaretz, are happy with the decision. But an article I read in Hashavua, a haredi newspaper, warned that the decision sets a dangerous precedent for all the  schools in the chinuch atzmai system.  If the government can stop financial support for one school, they can stop it for others as … [Read more...]

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Reform for Yeshiva High School Admission Process

August 11, 2010 by 3 Comments
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The yeshiva high school system* in Israel is elitist. To get in you need a good report card, high test scores, financial means, and, often, "protekzia." There are alternatives—private programs for kids who don't fit in to the yeshiva high school system, and public religious high schools. But those alternatives may have something of a stigma attached. The admissions process until now didn't help matters. Each yeshiva high school or ulpana test for a fee. If you did well, the school called you for an interview. Once accepted, you paid a nonrefundable deposit to hold your place. Every school had a slightly different process. Some schools tested at the end of fifth grade, others in the … [Read more...]

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Back to School Shopping Tips, 2010

August 2, 2010 by 12 Comments
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We're less than a month away from the start of school. I have no idea whether my first-grader's class will remain intact. I lost the book lists, which mysteriously disappeared after I put them in a folder marked "school." A neighbor is holding on to a batch of books for my 11th grader, and I passed off another batch from my 9th grader. I told my kids that they'll have to clean up their rooms before I buy more books and supplies. Wish me luck with that one. Here are my tips for buying school supplies. Please share yours in the comments. Uniforms: All schools now require children to wear a shirt with the school logo. Our elementary school asks for specific colors, and you buy t-shirts … [Read more...]

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Settlement in Emmanuel Bet Yaakov Segregation Dispute

June 21, 2010 by 3 Comments
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Update: It looks like the story is not over yet. The rabbinic court said it did not receive notice that Lalom revoked his lawsuit. It criticized him for going to the secular court, and claimed that it never said there was racism. The letter can be seen here (Hebrew). I don't know what the implications are. There is usually a lot between the lines in these kinds of rulings. After three years, a 100,000-strong demonstration against integration in the girls' school in Emanuel, and numerous statements from the haredi leadership about how it could never compromise on this issue, the daughters of the Slonim hassidim (Ashkenazi) parents in Emanuel will learn with Sephardi children in the coming … [Read more...]

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Parents of Emanuel Bet Yaakov Students Set to Go to Jail

June 16, 2010 by 39 Comments
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Update below, and more here: Settlement in Emanuel Bet  Yaakov Segregation Dispute The parents of the "Beit Yaakov Hasidi," a breakaway girls' school in the small West Bank town of Emanuel, were found in contempt of court last month for refusing to send their children to an integrated school. They have been sentenced to prison for two weeks, starting tomorrow. The case involves about 40 couples, of whom both parents will be incarcerated. When I spoke with a mother from Emanuel a few months ago, she insisted that there was no racism because there were children of sephardic [North African] background studying in the break-away school. She claimed that the reason for the separate … [Read more...]

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Sending a Child to a School Where She’s Not Wanted

April 19, 2010 by 6 Comments

Rafi left the following comment on the story of the principal from Beit Shemesh who threatened a student with social isolation: It is sad that this is happening, and I don't understand why the parents insist on sending the kid to this school that doesn't want her. Whatever the reason is, right or wrong, why not just send to another school? There are so many, why davka (specifically) the one that refuses to take you? I don't blame the kid, and the school's behavior is revolting, but some blame must be laid at the feet of the parents as well. Maybe it really is not the right school for this kid and they are simply insisting for stupid reasons. Parents have all kinds of reasons to send to … [Read more...]

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Ethiopian Integration in Petach Tikva Religious Schools

August 31, 2009 by 27 Comments

Petach Tikva has always been in the forefront of the debate over exclusivity and inclusion in the state religious school system. Introduction: A Short History of Integration and Private Schools in Petach Tikva Petach Tikva has both affluent and poor neighborhoods. There has long been bad feeling when integration in elementary school has been "forced." The resentment increased with the establishment of private schools that drew affluent children from the public religious schools and left a higher percentage of weaker and poorer students in the public system. This resentment existed even when the socioeconomic, cultural, religious and educational differences between the  two groups being … [Read more...]

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Working Parents and School Vacation in Israel: Proposal

March 23, 2009 by 14 Comments

Next week begins the three weeks of school vacation for the seven-day Passover holiday. The organization Working Parents for Change is working for the government to have fewer vacation days from school and more activities for children during the summer holidays. You can find the Hebrew proposal on its website. Suggestions: Quality supplemental, educational and fun frameworks for the summer holidays, subsidized by the government, municipalities, and independent organizations. "Working Parents for Change" has initiated contact with the umbrella organization of community centers. The goal is to include values currently lacking in the educational system. Increase the number of vacation days … [Read more...]

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