Israel’s Education Ministry has issued a tough new directive to Haredi schools in Beit Shemesh: accept student placements or risk losing government funding — a dramatic policy shift that has sparked tension with ultra-Orthodox parties.
In a move signaling a major policy shift, the Education Ministry’s Haredi District issued a stern ultimatum to Haredi girls’ high schools in Beit Shemesh: accept the students assigned to them or lose state funding.
The directive, sent by district head Shai Calderon, set a firm deadline of Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Principals who fail to comply risk financial sanctions.
The warning comes just days after the ministry took the unprecedented step of revoking funding for a Jerusalem Haredi girls’ school that refused to accept ministry-placed students.
The move marks a new, more assertive approach by the Education Ministry toward ultra-Orthodox institutions accused of selective admissions practices that leave some students without placements.
Meanwhile, the dispute spilled into the political arena. At a school inauguration in Beit Shemesh last week, MK Moshe Gafni (Degel Hatorah) called on Shas to expand its own network of schools:
“Open new educational institutions, as would be expected for a quality community, so your daughters have a place to study pleasantly and comfortably, without needing to crowd into our institutions.”
Shas responded sharply, defending its decades-long mission of building Sephardic schools:
“The Shas movement’s life mission is to establish top-tier educational institutions for the Sephardic public, and that is what it has done, with great success, for decades.”
With irony, the party added:
“Kudos to Rabbi Moshe Gafni for emphasizing how important it is that the Shas movement remain strong and independent.”
The clash underscores both the internal rivalries within the Haredi political sphere and the growing assertiveness of the Education Ministry, which appears determined to enforce state placement policies even against previously untouchable religious institutions.
