"Israeli public schools will be able to choose non-Orthodox rabbis and lecturers to serve as Jewish educators for their students"

Hiddush reminds Education Minister Shai Piron of his commitment to Jewish pluralism to ensure that public secular schools have a choice in hiring Jewish educators

24/11/2013 16:12

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Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron. picture: Kipa Conference/Flikr

Hiddush- Freedom of Religion for Israel recently contacted Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron in response to the hiring of an Orthodox Rabbi as a Jewish educator in a public secular school near Haifa. Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev demanded that Piron allow schools to choose their Jewish educators according to the schools own standards, regardless of whether or not they are a rabbi, and allow schools to hire non-Orthodox rabbis for this position. Minister Piron promised Hiddush that the Ministry of Education will allow every school to choose their educators based on the school's values and student population.

Following Hiddush's correspondences with the Education Minister, Israeli public secular schools will now be able to choose their rabbis or Jewish educators from any denomination or affiliation and will not be required to give the position to solely to Orthodox rabbis as was expected. The letter was initially sent after Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev had learned that an Orthodox rabbi was appointed to be the Jewish educator for a secular school near Haifa and that all schools in the district would now have a school Rabbi. The director of the Education Ministry's Haifa district office said that, if it is successful, this model could be implemented in other areas of Israel.

Minister Piron responded to Rabbi Regev's letter, writing that " “We have currently begun a reevaluation that will enable every school to choose the ‘mediator’ that suits it, with no connection to any particular [Jewish] movement...it’s unacceptable for the State of Israel to say a spiritual guide can only be a rabbi ... From my perspective, it can be any person of stature, including an academic or intellectual"

We have currently begun a reevaluation that will enable every school to choose the ‘mediator’ that suits it, with no connection to any particular [Jewish] movement...it’s unacceptable for the State of Israel to say a spiritual guide can only be a rabbi ... From my perspective, it can be any person of stature, including an academic or intellectual"

Rabbi Regev welcomed Piron's response and called on him to quickly issue a directive to clarify that each school can choose their own Jewish educators reflective of the school's population. This move is a step in the direction of successfully ending the Orthodox monopoly on Jewish education in Israeli schools.

He wrote to Rabbi Piron, saying: "It's clear that if schools are only employing Orthodox rabbis then this is an invalid and dangerous initiative" and reminded the Education Minister about his commitment to religious pluralism.

Rabbi Regev continued, "even with the important role that rabbis have served Jewish tradition throughout the generations, we must question the pre-concieved notion in Israel that rabbis are the sole intermediaries to connect Jewish values with public school students. It is clear that today that many educators have a significant amount of experience and knowledge in Jewish culture and religion. They are no less capable than rabbis in imparting important messages to schoolchildren, especially in secular schools. If the Education Ministry insists that the position of Jewish educator remains a rabbi, we must make sure that schools can choose from any denomination in order instill the values of pluralism and tolerance in the future generation of Israelis."