Ministry of Education (Israel)

The Ministry of Education (Hebrew: מִשְׂרָד הַחִנּוּךְ, translit. Misrad HaHinukh; Arabic: وزارة التربية والتعليم) is the branch of the Israeli government charged with overseeing public education institutions in Israel. The department is headed by the Minister of Education, who is a member of the cabinet. The ministry has previously included culture and sport, although this is now covered by the Ministry of Culture and Sport.

Ministry of Education
משרד החינוך

Ministry of Education Headquarters
Agency overview
Formed1949
Preceding agencies
  • Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
  • Ministry of Education and Culture
JurisdictionGovernment of Israel
HeadquartersLev Ram Building, Musrara, Jerusalem
31°47′3.97″N 35°13′26.48″E / 31.7844361°N 35.2240222°E / 31.7844361; 35.2240222
Annual budget42 billion New Shekel[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Websiteedu.gov.il

History

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Ministry offices on Street of the Prophets in Jerusalem

In the first decade of statehood, the education system was faced with the task of establishing a network of kindergartens and schools for a rapidly growing student population. In 1949, there were 80,000 elementary school students. By 1950, there were 120,000 - an increase of 50 percent within the span of one year. Israel also took over responsibility for the education of Arab schoolchildren. The first minister of education was Zalman Shazar, later president of the State of Israel.[2] Since 2002, the Ministry of Education has awarded a National Education Award to five top localities in recognizing excellence in investing substantial resources in the educational system.[3] In 2012, first place was awarded to the Shomron Regional Council and followed by Or Yehuda, Tiberias, Eilat and Beersheba. The prize has been awarded to a variety of educational institutions including kindergartens and elementary schools.

Activities of organizations in schools

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In 2013–2014, the Ministry of Education promoted the regulation of the activities of external parties within the state schools, in a dialogue between the Ministry, the local government, parents' representatives, the business sector and philanthropic parties, as part of what was called "the intersectoral round table in the Ministry of Education". As part of the regulation, the Ministry compiled a database of external programs that have some kind of partnership with a representative from the Ministry of Education's headquarters.

In 2019, a petition was filed by pluralist Jewish organizations against the Ministry of Education due to a procedure that reduces by tens of thousands of shekels the support for the activities of these organizations in schools. In April 2021, the High Court invalidated the procedure in question, and even emphasized the importance of implementing the principles of the Shanhar Committee report on the teaching of Judaism in state education.[4] In November 2021 it was announced that the Ministry of Education is not implementing the High Court ruling and that the damage to those organizations continues.[5]

List of ministers

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# Minister Party Governments Term start Term end Notes
Minister of Education and Culture
1 Zalman Shazar Mapai 1 10 March 1949 (1949-03-10) 1 November 1950 (1950-11-01)
2 David Remez Mapai 2 1 November 1950 (1950-11-01) 19 May 1951 (1951-05-19) Died in office
3 David Ben-Gurion Mapai 2 19 May 1951 (1951-05-19) 8 October 1951 (1951-10-08) Serving Prime Minister
4 Ben-Zion Dinur Mapai 3, 4, 5, 6 8 October 1951 (1951-10-08) 3 November 1955 (1955-11-03)
5 Zalman Aran Mapai 7, 8, 9 3 November 1955 (1955-11-03) 10 May 1960 (1960-05-10)
6 Abba Eban Mapai 9, 10 3 August 1960 (1960-08-03) 26 June 1963 (1963-06-26)
Zalman Aran Mapai, Alignment 11, 12, 13 26 June 1963 (1963-06-26) 15 December 1969 (1969-12-15)
7 Yigal Allon Alignment 15, 16 15 December 1969 (1969-12-15) 3 June 1974 (1974-06-03)
8 Aharon Yadlin Alignment 17 3 June 1974 (1974-06-03) 20 June 1977 (1977-06-20)
9 Zevulun Hammer National Religious Party 18, 19, 20 20 June 1977 (1977-06-20) 13 September 1984 (1984-09-13)
10 Yitzhak Navon Alignment 21, 22, 23 13 September 1984 (1984-09-13) 15 March 1990 (1990-03-15)
Zevulun Hammer National Religious Party 24 11 June 1990 (1990-06-11) 13 July 1992 (1992-07-13)
11 Shulamit Aloni Meretz 25 13 July 1992 (1992-07-13) 11 May 1993 (1993-05-11)
12 Yitzhak Rabin Labor 25 11 May 1993 (1993-05-11) 7 June 1993 (1993-06-07) Serving Prime Minister
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport
13 Amnon Rubinstein Meretz 25, 26 3 May 1994 (1994-05-03) 18 June 1996 (1996-06-18)
Zevulun Hammer National Religious Party 27 18 June 1996 (1996-06-18) 20 January 1998 (1998-01-20) Died in office
14 Yitzhak Levy National Religious Party 27 25 February 1998 (1998-02-25) 6 July 1999 (1999-07-06)
Minister of Education
15 Yossi Sarid Meretz 28 6 July 1999 (1999-07-06) 24 June 2000 (2000-06-24)
16 Ehud Barak One Israel 28 24 September 2000 (2000-09-24) 7 March 2001 (2001-03-07) Serving Prime Minister
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport
17 Limor Livnat Likud 29, 30 7 March 2001 (2001-03-07) 14 January 2006 (2006-01-14)
18 Meir Sheetrit Kadima 30 18 January 2006 (2006-01-18) 4 May 2006 (2006-05-04)
Minister of Education
19 Yuli Tamir Labor 31 4 May 2006 (2006-05-04) 31 March 2009 (2009-03-31)
20 Gideon Sa'ar Likud 32 31 March 2009 (2009-03-31) 18 March 2013 (2013-03-18)
21 Shai Piron Yesh Atid 33 18 March 2013 (2013-03-18) 4 December 2014
22 Naftali Bennett The Jewish Home,
New Right
34 14 May 2015 2 June 2019
23 Rafi Peretz Union of the Right-Wing Parties 34 17 June 2019 17 May 2020
24 Yoav Gallant Likud 35 17 May 2020 13 June 2021
25 Yifat Shasha-Biton New Hope 36 13 June 2021 29 December 2022
26 Yoav Kisch Likud 37 29 December 2022

References

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  1. ^ State Budget Proposal for Fiscal Years 1023-1024 Archived 2013-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Ministry of Finance
  2. ^ The Retreat from Public Education: Global and Israeli Perspectives, Orit Ichilov
  3. ^ "Shomron Regional Council Receives National Education Award". Israel National News. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012. "The award is an expression of our respect and appreciation for local authorities that are outstanding in the investment in education and in the importance they attach to fostering the local educational system."
  4. ^ "בג"ץ פסל נוהל של משרד החינוך שפגע בתמיכה בפעילות ארגוני יהדות פלורליסטים". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  5. ^ "משרד החינוך מתעלם מפסיקת בג"ץ: פרסם נוהל שפוגע בארגוני יהדות פלורליסטיים". הארץ (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-04-26.
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