Hebrew teachers for new immigrants quit

The Education Ministry employs only 500 “ulpan” (Hebrew courses for new immigrants) teachers. The resignation of nearly 20 percent of them will lead to the closure of more establishments and exacerbate the current situation. The government-funded courses have been unable to recruit new teachers, and a new immigrant who wants to learn Hebrew will now have to wait an average of six months before they can begin classes.

Teachers have previously gone on strike in protest of low wages, which have not been reviewed in 15 years. In the meantime, Israel is experiencing a rise in immigration due to the war in Ukraine with over 70,000 Jews moving to the country in 2022 alone. 

“It has been three months since I warned the Ministers of Education and Finance that their disregard will lead to the closure of ulpan classes, and this morning we were informed of their resignations, all while the State of Israel is experiencing the biggest wave of immigration in the last 20 years, with a 300 percent increase in the number of immigrants,” said the chairman of the Aliyah, Absorption and Diaspora Committee, MK Oded Forer.

“It is still not too late. I call on Bezalel Smotrich and Yoav Kish - stop the ulpan crisis, compare the conditions of teachers to the conditions of the entire education system,” he urged.