Jewish Education is Required in a Jewish Country!

No more violence and randomness. At least one hour of Jewish enrichment for every Jewish child in the educational system.

Restoration of honor and respectable pay to Israel's teachers – after they have been properly trained.

Jewish education that will make children proud of their Jewish heritage.

Everybody talks about education. Israel's education budget is second only to its defense budget. Israel's educational system has succeeded in producing top rate high tech professionals -- a very important achievement. But in the process, it has created a person disengaged and estranged from the values, concepts and basic heritage of the Jewish People. For these new, disconnected Jews, the most fundamental concepts in Jewish identity and history are complete unknowns.

A high percentage of Israel's public school graduates are not familiar with the age-old Jewish trademark "password" Shemah Yisrael, "Hear O' Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One" . Others do not know if Judah the Maccabbee fought the Romans, the Greeks or if he was just a player on the Macabi Tel Aviv basketball team. Sixty per cent of Israel's soldiers do not visit Jerusalem prior to their enlistment.

Judaism is not just for religious Jews. Israel's current educational system robs its students of their Jewish identity. To correct this, Israel must provide all of its public school students with a daily hour of Jewish identity, history and heritage studies.

The Voucher System for Educating our Children

"A father must teach his child Torah." This is what the Torah teaches us. But in the state of the Jews, the responsibility has slipped off the shoulders of the father and onto the shoulders of the minister. Without even noticing it, parents have surrendered their most central liberty: the liberty to educate their children. Today, if a parent wishes to independently educate his child, he must acquire special authorization from the Ministry of Education.

A liberty-based state will employ the voucher method. The Education Ministry will supply every parent with education vouchers to be used for their children. Special needs children will receive more vouchers. Parents will be able to "cash" these vouchers in the school of their choice. This will create healthy competition between the schools, the level of studies and diversity will flourish and responsibility and liberty will be restored to the parents. 


Moshe Feiglin