Earlier this week, the Israeli government voted to begin the school year on time, on September 1, despite the raging fourth coronavirus wave spurred by the Delta variant. Since then there have already been reports that the school year may be pushed off after all until after the Yamim Tovim.

The issue doesn’t apply to Chareidi schools since boys in chadarim and Talmudei Torah began school on Rosh Chodesh Elul and Bais Yaakov schools for girls began this week.

Meanwhile, whenever the school year for state schools does actually begin, the government plan is that schools will reopen using the “Green Pass” system, which means that staff can only enter schools if they are vaccinated, recovered or present a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours. Unvaccinated teachers or school staff who refuse to present a negative coronavirus test will be forced to take unpaid leave, according to the Justice Ministry.

However, unvaccinated teachers are putting up a fight against this stipulation, saying that this condition cannot be applied only to teachers. Ran Erez, head of the Teachers Association, said that his association will appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.

“We’ll appeal to the Supreme Court if unvaccinated and untested teachers have to sit at home without being paid,” Erez told Army Radio on Tuesday. “If this applies to the entire public sector — fine. But we won’t cooperate if the Green Pass is implemented for teachers only.”

Yaffa Ben David, the head of the National Teachers Union, warned of the possible negative repercussions of implementing the Green Pass system in Israel’s schools, saying that there’s already a serious shortfall of teachers. “Who will replace the unvaccinated teachers who are forced to stay home?” she asked.

Kan News reported that the Education Ministry is already working on finding substitute teachers to replace those who aren’t vaccinated.

There are about 37,000 Israeli teachers and school staff who haven’t been vaccinated, according to Health and Education Ministry estimates.

It should be noted that HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky said on Tuesday evening that unvaccinated teachers should not be teaching and that principals must suspend them from their positions, something that was widely reported on Israeli secular media.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)