According to a Maariv report, a half year after the government decided to implement a free long school day the list of municipalities in which this will be available shows that only the chareidi tzibur will benefit from the law, “davka in communities where chareidi parents do not work” the report states.

Last summer many working mothers protested, calling on the government to extend the school day since they spend most of their salaries on daycare until 16:00. The government did respond this year and now schooling until 16:00 will be available for students 3-9 and there will be a state subsidy for the extended hours towards making it more affordable for parents. The Trachtenberg Committee recommended the program for families in which both parents work and the mother must be capable of proving she works a minimum of 28 hours weekly. Minister of Education Gideon Saar however opposed the stipulation of two working parents.

The program will be implemented in the upcoming school year, beginning in lower income communities and his amended version of the longer school day program was approved by the cabinet in April 2012.

The report states that the program will be implemented in areas that are totally or primarily chareidi, including Tzfas, Netivot, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Arba, Kiryat Yearim (Telshe Stone), Rechasim, Elad, Emanuel, Hebron, Betar Illit, Modi’in Illit, Nachal Sorek and Har Hebron.

Maariv points out that this is so because according to earnings criteria, the chareidi municipalities are the poorest, but this is because so few people work, leading to the objections over the selection of these communities for the program. The report adds that 240,000 students will benefit from this next school year, but in 77% of the cases, the schools are not public schools but schools that are “recognized but not official”, i.e. chareidi mosdos.

Government officials responding explain that the program is not selecting chareidim per se, but beginning in lowest income communities and in coming years, the program will be expanded to other areas.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)