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
Annual budget42 billion New Shekel[1]
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Meir Shimoni, General Director
Websiteedu.gov.il

History
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

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
# Minister Party Governments Term start Term end Notes
Minister of Education and Culture
1Zalman ShazarMapai110 March 1949 (1949-03-10)1 November 1950 (1950-11-01)
2David RemezMapai21 November 1950 (1950-11-01)19 May 1951 (1951-05-19)Died in office
3David Ben-GurionMapai219 May 1951 (1951-05-19)8 October 1951 (1951-10-08)Serving Prime Minister
4Ben-Zion DinurMapai3, 4, 5, 68 October 1951 (1951-10-08)3 November 1955 (1955-11-03)
5Zalman AranMapai7, 8, 93 November 1955 (1955-11-03)10 May 1960 (1960-05-10)
6Abba EbanMapai9, 103 August 1960 (1960-08-03)26 June 1963 (1963-06-26)
–Zalman AranMapai, Alignment11, 12, 1326 June 1963 (1963-06-26)15 December 1969 (1969-12-15)
7Yigal AllonAlignment15, 1615 December 1969 (1969-12-15)3 June 1974 (1974-06-03)
8Aharon YadlinAlignment173 June 1974 (1974-06-03)20 June 1977 (1977-06-20)
9Zevulun HammerNational Religious Party18, 19, 2020 June 1977 (1977-06-20)13 September 1984 (1984-09-13)
10Yitzhak NavonAlignment21, 22, 2313 September 1984 (1984-09-13)15 March 1990 (1990-03-15)
–Zevulun HammerNational Religious Party2411 June 1990 (1990-06-11)13 July 1992 (1992-07-13)
11Shulamit AloniMeretz2513 July 1992 (1992-07-13)11 May 1993 (1993-05-11)
12Yitzhak RabinLabor2511 May 1993 (1993-05-11)7 June 1993 (1993-06-07)Serving Prime Minister
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport
13Amnon RubinsteinMeretz25, 263 May 1994 (1994-05-03)18 June 1996 (1996-06-18)
–Zevulun HammerNational Religious Party2718 June 1996 (1996-06-18)20 January 1998 (1998-01-20)Died in office
14Yitzhak LevyNational Religious Party2725 February 1998 (1998-02-25)6 July 1999 (1999-07-06)
Minister of Education
15Yossi SaridMeretz286 July 1999 (1999-07-06)24 June 2000 (2000-06-24)
16Ehud BarakOne Israel2824 September 2000 (2000-09-24)7 March 2001 (2001-03-07)Serving Prime Minister
Minister of Education, Culture and Sport
17Limor LivnatLikud29, 307 March 2001 (2001-03-07)14 January 2006 (2006-01-14)
18Meir SheetritKadima3018 January 2006 (2006-01-18)4 May 2006 (2006-05-04)
Minister of Education
19Yuli TamirLabor314 May 2006 (2006-05-04)31 March 2009 (2009-03-31)
20Gideon Sa'arLikud3231 March 2009 (2009-03-31)18 March 2013 (2013-03-18)
21Shai PironYesh Atid3318 March 2013 (2013-03-18)4 December 2014
22Naftali BennettThe Jewish Home,
New Right		3414 May 20152 June 2019
23Rafi PeretzUnion of the Right-Wing Parties3417 June 201917 May 2020
24Yoav GallantLikud3517 May 202013 June 2021
25Yifat Shasha-BitonNew Hope3613 June 202129 December 2022
26Yoav KischLikud3729 December 2022

References
  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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