State turns blind eye as Haredi schools sidestep core curriculum, study reveals

Only a small fraction of the ultra-Orthodox boys’ elementary schools that fail to teach core curriculum subjects as required by law face any sanctions, a new report by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) published on Wednesday has found.

The report covers the school years between 2013-14 and 2023-24.

“For years, public officials and Knesset members have promised to pressure the Haredi sector to teach the core curriculum,” Ariel Finkelstein, the report’s author, told The Times of Israel over the phone. “Today, many highlight the fact that all Haredi schools commit to teaching at least part of it. But that’s only on paper; the reality is very different.”

Core curriculum subjects are divided into three clusters: language; math and science; and English — representing the fundamental knowledge that the state believes every child who goes through the school system should acquire.

The issue of core curriculum primarily affects boys’ schools since, in the ultra-Orthodox worldview, boys are expected to dedicate their time to Torah study, while girls are not.

The vast majority of Haredi schoolchildren attend private schools that receive at least partial funding from the state. As of the 2024–2025 school year, only around 7 percent of Haredi students were enrolled in public Haredi schools, known by their Hebrew acronym MaMaH (mamlachti-Haredi).

These private schools fall into several categories.

“Exempt” institutions, or private schools in Hebrew, receive about 55 percent of the funding allocated to state schools, provided they teach 55 percent of the core curriculum.

A second category, “recognized but unofficial” institutions — known by the Hebrew acronym Mokshar — commit to teaching 75 percent of the curriculum and receive 75 percent of the funding.

Finally, “network” schools are affiliated with one of two major ultra-Orthodox political parties: Bnei Yosef, aligned with the Sephardic Shas party, and Chinuch Atzma’i, associated with the Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism party. These schools are fully state-funded and are expected to teach the entire core curriculum.

“My goal was to understand what’s really happening on the ground,” Finkelstein said. “We all know that many Haredi children either don’t study core subjects at all or do so only minimally. If that’s the case, why aren’t these schools seeing corresponding cuts in state funding?”

The report found that the ministry does not exercise any form of enforcement in exempt or unrecognized schools. In addition, only 6% of the “network” schools have faced budget cuts, despite indications that many more disregard the curriculum.

Finkelstein quoted another study he published in 2022, which found that 76% of Haredi parents of schoolboys reported their sons did not learn English at all in school, even though both “unrecognized” and “network” schools, comprising over 50% of the Haredi students ages 6-14, were required to teach English.

Another study — unrelated to Finkelstein and published in the journal Regulation & Governance in 2023 — analyzed interviews and school data from a representative sample of 82 principals and teachers in Haredi schools serving 18,000 students. It found that the majority of these schools did not comply with core curriculum requirements.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, Finkelstein suggested that his conservative estimate is that at least half of Haredi schools do not.

“In the higher grades, 7th and 8th, the rate is probably much higher than 50 percent,” he added (in the ultra-Orthodox school system, elementary schools, also known as Talmud Torahs, cover boys aged 6-14, while boys aged 14-17 study in yeshivot ketanot).

The report also found that even when the ministry intervened to withdraw funding, the cuts were minimal. For the 2023-2024 school year, the average deduction was equivalent to NIS 225,000, or 6% of the budget.

“I wanted to show that sanctions are very minimal, equivalent to a few million shekels a year as opposed to the billions transferred to the system,” Finkelstein said.

“In the end, enforcement is just for show,” he added, noting that the schools still receive the vast majority of their budget while teaching whatever they please.

According to the researcher, if the political will existed, implications could go way beyond a question of funding.

“A school that violates the law can legally be shut down,” Finkelstein said. “Its operating permit is conditional on complying with the law — yet no school has ever actually been closed.”

Over the 10 school years covered by the report, the level of enforcement and sanctions fluctuated slightly.

“It appears that when the Haredim are [politically] stronger, there are fewer sanctions,” Finkelstein said.

In response to the IDI report, the Education Ministry told The Times of Israel in a statement that “supervision of core studies in educational institutions is carried out regularly and according to the procedures.”

“When violations are identified, clear enforcement measures are implemented — including budget reductions, funding termination, and even permit revocation,” the statement said. “At the same time, and as part of the broader policy, there is ongoing professional dialogue with the institutions aimed at strengthening core subject instruction and closing educational gaps — a process that has proven effective over time.”

The IDI’s most recent report was also presented to the Knesset State Comptroller Committee on Wednesday.

During the meeting, committee chair Mickey Levy from Yesh Atid criticized the Education Ministry for its lack of transparency.

“Despite repeated requests from the committee to the Education Ministry to receive the report detailing the scope of core curriculum studies in Haredi elementary schools, the report has yet to be delivered,” he said. “I view this as a severe infringement on the Knesset’s work and its role as a supervisory body.”