A computer for every child? This has long since ceased to bridge the gaps
After three years in which children from the confrontation line in the south and north saw their homes evacuated, their classrooms closed, and their childhoods interrupted again and again, a computer for every child is no longer a message that suffices on its own. A real solution must include advanced physical infrastructure, academic equality of opportunity, and a continuous human and emotional support system. Opinion.
The author is the Chairman of Mifal HaPayis.
Half of the summer vacation has passed, and an atmosphere of renewal is beginning to spread in the air ahead of the start of the school year. There are moments when an old memory surfaces and asks us to look in the mirror again. Many years ago, the country fell in love with a beautiful and important idea: "A computer for every child." It was a blessed and justified initiative for its time, which sought to bridge an initial technological gap.
That worldview — which held that it was enough to give a child a black box with a screen and a keyboard to erase gaps and engineer equality of opportunity at the click of a button — is no longer valid. Today, after three years of war that shook the foundations of the state, and after three years in which children from the confrontation line in the south and north saw their homes evacuated, their classrooms closed, and their childhoods interrupted again and again, the time has come to tell the truth: a computer for every child in 2026 is no longer a message that suffices on its own.
Years of turmoil — from the coronavirus, through the events of October 7 and the "Iron Swords" war, to the rounds against Iran — have become an inseparable part of the reality of Israeli children in recent years, and they are taking a heavy toll on them. A new study recently published on "The impact of the coronavirus period and the 'Iron Swords' war on the lives of teenagers in Israel" shows that one in five students suffers from symptoms of post-traumatic stress, and more than a quarter are dealing with mental distress. At the same time, there has been an increase in drug and alcohol use as well as cases of violence.
However, within this complex reality, the gap is only deepening. While a child in the center of the country returns, more or less, to a stable and orderly framework that allows them to recover — children in the confrontation line and the periphery carry a double burden on their backs: a heavy load of prolonged evacuations, closed classrooms, and the loss of academic, emotional, and social continuity.
The gap created between them and their peers is no longer a gap in equipment, but a gap in opportunity, stability, and horizon. A material solution does not heal the anxiety that entered their bones when the siren caught them on the way to school, and a screen does not provide an answer to the hole torn in the academic continuity of a child who spent months in crowded hotel rooms.
Physical assistance, without an emotional support system, leadership circles, and a mentor who will sit beside them, remains only a partial response that does not touch the root of things. Maimonides, when describing the highest level of giving, wrote: "To strengthen his hand so that he will not need to ask of others" — meaning true equality of opportunity is measured by building the child's independent ability to stand on their own feet and take off. The power does not lie in the devices on the table, but in the belief we have planted in the child and the fishing rod we have given them to fish for themselves.
We must change the record
As someone who meets every day with heads of authorities, managers in the field, therapists, social workers, and the children themselves in every corner of Israel — my heart is broken, but my spirit refuses to accept the situation. If we are a nation that desires life, if we truly believe in equality of opportunity, the state must change the record: start building infrastructure.
A real solution rests on three pillars:
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Advanced physical infrastructure — establishing innovation, youth, and technology centers within the settlements themselves, safe and inviting spaces that serve as a second home for children even in the afternoon hours.
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A continuous human and emotional support system — placing professionals, psychologists, and resilience instructors alongside personal mentors and leadership programs, which will accompany the child over time and not in a one-time meeting.
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Academic equality of opportunity — bringing excellence, cyber, and personalized learning programs directly to schools in the confrontation line and the periphery, instead of waiting for the children to reach the center.
Building such a national plan is essential for the recovery of the next generation, and it is the difference between a temporary response and building the future.
The litmus test before the leaders of tomorrow
The consequences of the last few years still accompany teenagers in Israel, and there has been significant damage to their mental, social, and functional well-being. The family unit at home, the strength of the school, and social connections are key factors of resilience in their well-being — and mental resilience comes before 5 units of study in mathematics.
A child whose head is stormy with anxieties cannot concentrate on studies and certainly cannot build their dreams. The response to our children must be intertwined with emotional support, a warm hand, and safe spaces. True equality is built on long-term deep budgets, and not on one-time campaigns that photograph well for the newspaper and are then forgotten.
The children of the periphery and the confrontation line are not miserable, and they certainly do not need pity. They are the next generation of leaders, scientists, and creators of the State of Israel. They have tremendous talent, power like no other, and eyes thirsty for knowledge. The question is not what is convenient for us to give them to feel that we have done good, but what they deserve so that they can fly.
Ahead of the elections and the national decisions before us, this must be our litmus test for the leaders of tomorrow: are they offering the children of the periphery and the confrontation line a propaganda bandage, or are they committing to deep budgets and a real national plan?
This is the time to give every boy and girl in Israel what they deserve by right and not by grace: the full belief in us, in themselves, and all the tools in the world to fulfill their dreams.
