Haifa Mayor warns of education crisis, citing IDF officer corps as example

The annual preparation conference for the upcoming school year, organized by the Association of Education Department Directors in local authorities, took place today at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa. The focus was on the phenomenon of violence within the education system. The conference proceeded without Minister of Education Yoav Kisch, who is currently on vacation, to the disappointment of many attendees.

Shelly Keren, chair of the Association of Education Department Directors, stated: "This violence is a product of a turbulent national period, of erosion in mental resilience, of a polarized and crude public discourse, and of a borderless digital space. We must look the difficult reality in the eyes but remember that hope is the basis of our work plan."

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, host of the conference and recipient of the 2026 Education Prize, emphasized the need for change: "You need to identify boredom in the education system; if it is boring, you must stop and make dramatic changes, including withdrawing from curricula. Children are exposed to many stimuli in a fascinating new world; they must be interested in what is being taught. I see this already at the level of the officer corps in the IDF—it is not what it used to be. This should worry us deeply."

Ministry of Education Director General Meir Shimoni added: "The fight against violence is a fight for the character of society. We must decide what kind of space we want to leave for children—a space of fear or security, of power or respect. To win this fight, we must act together."

Haim Bibas, Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities and Mayor of Modiin, highlighted the burden of special education: "It has become a huge burden due to the irresponsibility of all parties—the Ministry of Education, local government, the Knesset, and the Teachers' Union. We will demand a management overhaul, otherwise, the system will collapse."

Yaffa Ben-David, Secretary General of the Teachers' Union, responded: "The Special Education Law will be a disaster for future generations. Integration must be handled properly, but we are missing 5,000 teaching assistants. We cannot look only at the budget; we must change the law. Teachers are expected to manage 35 children and deal with violence, but where are the parents? This is a parental issue; we must reduce class sizes."

Superintendent Yuval Revivo, head of the youth section in the Israel Police, noted: "Fewer open files among youth does not mean a decrease in crime; it means authorities have not engaged enough with them. We are facing a shortage of tens of percent of police officers and are in a difficult situation."