The Knesset voted on Friday to re-open schools, beginning with first through third grades as well as 11th and 12th grades, beginning on Sunday.

However, in the Chareidi sector, Gedolei Hador were opposed to sending young children back to school due to the fact that they are too young to follow safety regulations. Instead, the 7th and 8th grades of Talmudei Torah will reopen as well as yeshivos ketanos (9th-11th grades).

At the instruction of Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky and Hagaon Rosh Yeshiva Harav Gershon Edelstein, detailed instructions will be published on Motzei Shabbos about the re-opening of the schools, which is expected to begin on Monday. The younger grades will return to school later in the month except for 1st through 3rd grades, who will only return at the instruction of the Gedolim.

The government has instructed schools to check each student’s temperature at the beginning of each day and require every student to wash their hands before entering their classroom.

All students in 2nd grade and above will have to wear masks outside the classroom. Students will be forbidden from sharing food and drinks as well as school supplies and will not be allowed to play any games involving a ball.

A growing list of cities and towns announced over the weekend that they will not be ready to re-open on Sunday since they weren’t given adequate time to prepare, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tzfat and Be’er Sheva

In response, the Education Ministry stated that the reopening of schools will be staggered from Sunday through Tuesday, allowing cities to make the necessary preparations.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)