Education reform plan threatens long strike; Yuli Tamir: "A bad idea"

The Israeli education system is facing a potential paradigm shift. The "Pinui-Binui" (Evacuation-Construction) plan, promoted by the "Aleinu - HaNechadim HaMeyasdim" (We are the grandchildren of the founders) organization, seeks to transfer school management to local authorities and educational networks, replacing state employment with personal contracts for teachers.

The plan has already been integrated into Naftali Bennett's platform and is under review by the Ministry of Finance. However, the architects of the plan acknowledge a ticking time bomb: implementation could trigger a teachers' strike lasting anywhere from three months to a full year. The critical question remains whether the State of Israel and its students can afford such a price.

Target: September 2027

According to the proposed timeline, the government would announce the changes in November 2026, with the expectation that the 2027 school year would begin under a strike that could last three months.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently stated in a podcast interview: "I am very radical regarding the education system; it needs to be closed and reopened. We must prepare for a year of strike alongside local government to provide a solution and rebuild."

In a "strike file" prepared by the "Aleinu" organization, potential compensation amounts for families are outlined. Supervision costs are estimated at 40 shekels per hour. Kindergarten parents could receive up to 3,200 shekels (for 80 hours), first-grade parents 2,800 shekels (for 70 hours), and second-grade parents 2,400 shekels (for 60 hours). For grades 5 to 9, the payment would be 300 shekels per month, with a family cap of 150 hours of supervision, totaling 6,000 shekels per month.

Prof. Yuli Tamir, former Minister of Education and current president of Beit Berl Academic College, questions the feasibility of this scenario: "I don't think a new government could afford to start its term with a strike. A long strike would inflict huge damage on children who have already endured the pandemic, a three-year war, evacuations, rocket fire, and confrontations with Iran. There is already a severe lack of educational continuity, and adding months of staying at home will cause not only educational but also social damage."

A bad idea

Tamir describes the "Pinui-Binui" plan as a bad idea: "It is a terrible plan for many reasons. The system will become far less efficient as management is transferred to local authorities and the bureaucracy expands. People without real solutions offer grandiose ones—it will work exactly like the 'absolute victory' narrative. The system needs solutions, not another crisis."

As a former minister, Tamir faced a two-month strike led by Ran Erez's Teachers' Union: "I knew what I wanted, and we signed an agreement that changed the system. But kindergartens and elementary schools are different. After a government change, people want quiet and order. A strike in elementary education and kindergartens paralyzes the economy, costing half a billion shekels a day."

Regarding the proposal to compensate parents, Tamir is skeptical: "It sounds unserious. Who will supervise this money? Who will staff these alternative frameworks? In a crisis, it is barely possible to create a solution for half a million students; how do they intend to create frameworks for all kindergarten and elementary children? This is social, educational, and political damage."

In conclusion, Tamir states: "Israel will not be able to withstand this. We have no struggle with educators, and it is worth making changes with them, not against them."