Education Policy Program

In recent years, Israel’s democratic character has become a matter of contention, and the institutions of liberal democracy have come under increased pressure. The public education system is ill equipped to deal with this situation. As a consequence, it has been depriving the next generation of Israelis of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to thrive as informed and engaged citizens of the Jewish and democratic state.

The Education Policy Program at the Israel Democracy Institute was established to help education reformers address this need. Relying on applied research and hands-on consulting, the program promotes an innovative approach to civics education in Israel that emphasizes democracy as a foundational concept that pervades the entire curriculum and every part of student life. The program works across Israel’s four educational streams, including tailored approaches for the national Haredi and Arab education systems designed to promote integration around a common ethos of citizenship.

 

The education system is obligated to create, for all students in Israeli society, a common foundation for life in a Jewish and democratic state. This includes the ability of students to engage in difficult discussions and requires educators who are grounded in civic responsibility and democratic values.

Linking October 7 to the Holocaust shapes Israeli memory and identity—but while the parallels evoke deep emotion, this connection must also serve as a call for democratic resilience, not a retreat into victimhood.

The connection between October 7th and September 11th are not just in the magnitude of the tragedy and their ongoing global impact, but in the messaging and paradigms introduced into the educational system, as it attempts to tackle this fateful event. The education system has a critical role to play in allowing society to deal constructively with the consequences of the current war.

The education system is one of the primary arenas for addressing the challenges of tomorrow. Given that Israel's education system has children from different backgrounds going to different schools, addressing these challenges is particularly difficult. 

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Dr. Tammy Hoffman, Director of IDI's Education Policy Program explains why the current political and social crisis in Israel is related to the education system and why there cannot be democracy without educating toward democracy.

Education can exist without democracy - however democracy cannot exist without education for democracy

If the teachers in the state system do not address current events and introduce their pupils to diverse worldviews, Israeli schools will continue to exist as a bubble.

Considering current political tensions and tendencies regarding the education system, we asked the Israeli general public questions that can reflect public opinion concerning some possible predispositions that stake holders should take into consideration. Especially regarding the role of teachers in a politically divided reality, the role of the education system in promoting education for democracy and a reflection about the inherent divisions in the system and the challenges they pose to society as a whole.

In order to make a fundamental change we must start treating teaching as a national-priority profession

As Israel celebrates its 74th birthday - what must be done to bolster social solidarity? Education, education and education!

The Israeli discourse on Holocaust remembrance lacks depth and is too far removed from profound and complex study of the critical significance of its Jewish, as well as of its universal, lessons.

How many generations of Israelis will be educated without the tools they need to commit to the values of inclusion, respect for the other, and equality?

The education system must cultivate political and civic literacy of today’s pupils and tomorrow’s citizens

 

The pandemic offers a chance for much-needed educational reform, but the hasty return is raising fears that the opportunities presented by the crisis for truly driving the education system forward into the 21st century are being missed

After three contentious election campaigns, Israel's new government has been sworn in. IDI's experts weigh-in with their recommendations on the most important issues on the agenda. Dr. Tammy Hoffman outlines policy recommendations for the new Minister of Education.