Second-hand apartments sold Tel Aviv and central region Ramat Gan: A 98 square meter third floor apartment with parking on Beit Shamai Street in the Hillel neighborhood was sold for NIS 2.87 million eighth floor apartment with parking on Sheba Street near Tel Hashomer was sold for NIS 4.19 million first floor apartment on Haroeh Street in the city center was sold for NIS 1.73 million first floor apartment on San Martin Street in Ramat Chen was sold for NIS 3.87 million second floor apartment with a balcony on Habanim Street near the border with Ramat Gan was sold for NIS 1.37 million (real Capital) second floor apartment on Hashikma Street in the city center was sold for NIS 1.84 million third floor apartment on Anna Frank Street in the Ramot Hanasi neighborhood was sold for NIS 2.3 million ground floor apartment on Harav Uziel Street in the city center was sold for NIS 1.58 million ground floor apartment on Hatabor Street in the Heh neighborhood was sold for NIS 1.42 million fifth floor apartment with two parking spaces on Ramat Hagolan Street in the east of the city was sold for NIS 2.05 million first floor apartment on Hagilboa Street in the east of the city was sold for NIS 1.62 million Haifa and the north Nesher: A 78 square meter sixth floor apartment with parking on Havatzelet Street in Givat Amos was sold for NIS 1.25 million fourth floor apartment on Yael Street was sold for NIS 1.1 million ground floor apartment with a 15 square meter yard on Hasavion Street in the Ramot Yitzhak neighborhood was sold for NIS 1.6 million Beersheva and the south Mitzpe Ramon: A 100 square meter first floor apartment on Ein Ekev Street in the town center was sold for NIS 920,000 first floor apartment on Nahal Mishor Street was sold for NIS 750,000 six-room house on a 520 square meter lot on Ein Mor Street in the west of the town was sold for NIS 1.4 million All deals were reported on the Israel Tax Authority website Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 4, 2025. © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025. 28 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Hapoel Tel Aviv won 1–0 over Hapoel Ramat Gan on Mon This is 34 of the Leumit League Promotion Group Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match The current head to head record for the teams are Hapoel Tel Aviv 7 win(s) Stav Turiel is the competition's top scorer (16) Have scored 10 goals in their last 5 matches Who won between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Ramat Gan on Mon 28 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT?Hapoel Tel Aviv won 1–0 over Hapoel Ramat Gan on Mon 28 Apr 2025 16:00:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 8 goals in their last 5 matches Hapoel Tel Aviv is playing home against Hapoel Ramat Gan on Mon Following the sirens in Gush Dan and Sharon one person sustained moderate to serious injuries while four others were injured moderately to lightly due to direct missle hit on an empty bus near Ramat Gan The IDF spokesperson confirmed that the Air Force intercepted one projectile seven firefighting teams are fighting a fire sparked by falling debris in Ramat Gan The area has been closed to traffic due to extensive glass hazards Israeli Air Force employs some 50 munitions to target Houthi infrastructure in Yemen 24 hours after missile strike close to.. Israel has launched Operation "Port City," striking concrete plants and cargo docks at the Houthi-controlled port in coordination with.. The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet has approved a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip dubbed "Gideon’s Chariots," aimed at defeating Hamas.. Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”] '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/ramat-gan-safari-announces-birth-of-rhino-calf\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=LEe_ZvTN_WclQU1V6nqidyboNX4XcNvt.hB9ltzgvQo-1746514159-1.0.1.1-CN_9MUy1EAO5snZnepr6K3syja4HbWciD1Q1grgv5x0" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); The future of Ramat Gan as one Israel's cities with the biggest number of towers is in the process of being realized The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Committee urban renewal subcommittee will today discuss four of Ramat Gan's biggest plans for deposit for objections in which 600 apartments in 42 old buildings will be demolished and replaced by nine towers with 1,900 new apartments The biggest of the plans covers 19 dunams (4.75 acres) in which 16 buildings between Arlozorov Hamatmid and Simcha Streets will be demolished The developer Acro Urban Renewal plans to replace them with five towers including two with 60 floors on Arlozorov Street and one with 54 floors in Hamatmid Street as well as two public buildings These towers will include 1,050 apartments instead of the 345 apartments in the old buildings An adjacent old building is being slated for preservation and will serve as a commercial center In a second project on 3.15 dunams (3,150 square meters) between Abba Hillel Silver Saliah Rothschild Financing and Investments is promoting a plan to demolish 33 apartments and two houses and build a 40-floor tower with 152 apartments above commercial space and a cluster of kindergartens At the junction of Rashi and Abba Hillel Silver Streets Africa Israel Urban Renewal and Avgad Quality in Renewal are promoting a project on 9.6 dunams (2.4 acres) which involves demolishing 14 buildings with 161 apartments and a commercial center Instead three buildings will be constructed: a 36-floor building with 467 apartments and four and six floor buildings The plan includes requisitioning for roads and land for public buildings Rotshtein Real Estate is developing an additional project on Abba Hillel Silver Street on the corner of Herut and Hatikva Streets in which 30-floor and 10-floor buildings with 202 housing units as well as commercial and office space will be built This project will replace the six existing apartment buildings on the 3.7 dunam (3,700 square meter) site These plans are part of the start of the realization of Ramat Gan's new urban vision as reflected in the comprehensive urban outline plan (RG/1) which is in very advanced procedures for approval by the District Planning and Building Committee the city will grow to a population of 390,000 The plan includes developing what is defined as "intensive areas" most of which will be located along the main traffic arteries and will include construction on an increased scale The plan also includes a list of roads called "skeleton streets," including Arlozorov The plan will allow construction of up to 35-floors along Abba Hillel and construction of up to 20-floors along Haroeh Street and Jerusalem Boulevard beneath which a metro line will run Otherwise in city center neighborhoods buildings will be restricted to 8-9 floors Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 9 © Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. "\/liveblog_entry\/idf-says-interceptor-hit-missile-over-ramat-gan-last-night-but-failed-to-cause-it-to-explode\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=84CcXafsOfmDrR25jdwKnwAiSwYoWmQmU.zQ3MYSEhU-1746514174-1.0.1.1-hRsim2KVJPcc_nsUIkGikwvs9Cu_NQcCtcPnAO3YG0E" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/initial-idf-probe-finds-missile-warhead-hit-ramat-gan-school-after-partial-interception\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=HC.9B4NtieNmTCqfPHTceOxwzl7EkAu2G84BS5z152g-1746514181-1.0.1.1-h1J..4LFYEO3QAF1HYr.oQQbiZUyuzG13AZ3i95t_Oo" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page View of a damaged school after a projectile fired from Yemen was intercepted Israel's missile defense system successfully intercepted a Yemeni ballistic missile early Thursday but the operation's debris caused significant damage to an elementary school in central Israel forcing its immediate closure and highlighting the expanding reach of regional conflicts The incident in Ramat Gan occurred at 2:47 a.m when interceptor fragments struck the school's main building An elementary school in Ramat Gan's Ramat Efal neighborhood sustained significant damage early Thursday when debris from an interceptor missile launched to counter a Yemeni ballistic missile The incident occurred after air raid sirens activated throughout the Dan metropolitan region at 2:47 a.m Emergency services responded to multiple calls about smoke near the school approximately 10 minutes after the sirens Fire crews discovered impact damage in the school's courtyard with several vehicles and adjacent structures also affected The incident prompted an immediate response from local authorities "Municipal teams are on site handling all necessary measures including coordinating alternative arrangements for students while maintaining educational continuity," said Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen who personally oversaw the emergency response According to an initial investigation by the Israeli Air Force and examination of findings at the impact site at the school in Ramat Gan it appears that there was a partial interception of the missile launched this morning from Yemen and it was found that the missile's warhead was the component that exploded and caused the damage Video: Hagari speaks after the Israeli attack on the Houthis / Credit: IDF Spokesperson Officials determined the facility must remain closed until a thorough safety assessment is completed the municipality announced immediate contingency plans "Grades 1-4 and special education students will be relocated to nearby schools while higher grades will transition to remote learning effective immediately," the official statement said The Home Front Command indicated no changes to general safety guidelines allowing normal routines to continue in the area speaking both as mayor and parent of an Efal School student emphasized the fortunate timing of the incident: "Tonight ended with great fortune for Ramat Gan residents I cannot bear to imagine a scenario where this occurred during school hours even with our fully fortified and sheltered facilities." "Our municipal teams continue their comprehensive response - from managing student relocation while maintaining educational continuity to damage assessment and restoration of public spaces to the extent possible." The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30, 2007. Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better, more balanced and more accurate journalism. Journalism that speaks, not shouts. Journalism of a different kind. And free of charge. 11 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Hapoel Ramat Gan won 2–0 over Maccabi Herzliya on Fri This is 32 of the Leumit League Promotion Group The current head to head record for the teams are Maccabi Herzliya 6 win(s) Have scored 12 goals in their last 5 matches Who won between Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Ramat Gan on Fri 11 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT?Hapoel Ramat Gan won 2–0 over Maccabi Herzliya on Fri 11 Apr 2025 13:00:00 GMT.InsightsHave scored 5 goals in their last 5 matches Maccabi Herzliya is playing home against Hapoel Ramat Gan on Fri rumors have been circulating on the internet about two tigers who supposedly escaped the Safari in Ramat Gan The Safari quickly sent out a reassuring clarification: "We reassure everyone It also stated that "our tigers Rimba and Tzintzin are together in their enclosure." In addition the Safari invited the public to come and see for themselves "\/liveblog_entry\/israelis-line-up-to-offer-condolences-to-bibas-family-in-ramat-gan\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=v3zEHvQ_VgcyR6UKEcoMdfWHapR_caX68j3xdsavkO8-1746514229-1.0.1.1-xJNrR_dKJ5GEyTBL6WONDXLz9evPhM_wfk7HuszaI8o" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/5-wounded-including-one-seriously-after-hezbollah-missile-attack-on-central-israel-medics-say\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=SuPTN5MVVV3b1Fj08h7j1gaukceytnpNWphTh3jbDtE-1746514232-1.0.1.1-299LhVLnvRX.jBV9dq0LYXQTIk_vRWK0pwNNrnW1WCo" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null A controversy arose at the Ohel Shem High School in Ramat Gan after the school principal suspended a student for putting on tefillin (phylacteries) on the school grounds escalated after hundreds of students at the prestigious school collected money and jointly purchased a pair of tefillin to put on during breaks between classes the students became eager to get closer to tradition and put on tefillin the students collected small donations until they were able to purchase their first pair of tefillin with many students waiting in line to put on tefillin during breaks the school administration did not take the initiative kindly The report cited testimony from a student who recounted teachers removing notices advertising the tefillin project throughout the school When a ninth-grade student put on an additional pair of tefillin outside his classroom The published footage shows a confrontation between the school principal and the students with the principal claiming that tefillin was not allowed on school grounds the project organizer was also summoned for a reprimand and warning The Ramat Gan Municipality said in response to the report "There is no prohibition on wearing tefillin at the Ohel Shem School the school administration approved a student to set up a tefillin stand for widespread use during breaks out of a desire to allow personal expression for students who are interested in doing so and in contrast to what is customary in other cities." "Ohel Shem High School is committed to the values ​​of pluralism and respecting the freedom of belief of its students - both those who want to wear tefillin and those who do not another stand was set up without coordination and approval with the school administration while ignoring administrators and the authority of the educational staff it was decided to remove the stands at this stage until the investigation is complete "As long as I am the mayor of Ramat Gan every student can bring tefillin to school and wear tefillin at school." "The video is partial and from one side it's better not to rush to judgment without hearing both sides I'm waiting for clarification from the Education Department and then I'll sort out the matter as long as there's still a dispute," he said Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel on Wednesday night after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile towards the area "Following the sirens that sounded in numerous areas in central Israel the IAF intercepted one missile that was launched from Yemen Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling debris from the interception." Residents of the area reported hearing explosions and interceptor fragments fell in a school in the Ramat Gan neighborhood of Ramat Ef'al causing severe damage to both the building and vehicles Magen David Adom (MDA) said there were no reports of injuries other than several people who suffered shock or who were injured on their way to protected spaces "Following the interception of the missile damage to a school in Ramat Efal was identified," the IDF confirmed The circumstances surrounding the impact are under review." reports said that a fragment of a "Hetz" interceptor hit the school later reports said that the warhead hit the school causing damage to the structure and vehicles Education Minister Yoav Kisch visited the school and confirmed that the damage was caused by the warhead striking the structure The Ramat Gan municipality responded: "Upon receipt of the report Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen arrived at the scene of the incident and called in the municipal staffs headed by the city's Director General Motti Cohen we identified a widescale collapse in the central building of the school and therefore the school cannot be used until further notice." "It was decided to move studies for grades 1-4 and special education students to nearby schools; the other grades will remain at home and study remotely," the city added Shama-Hacohen said: "The night ended with enormous good luck for residents of the city of Ramat Gan As the mayor and as the father of a girl in the Ef'al school I do not want to explain the situation had this missile been launched during school hours even on the level of anxiety and the difficult situation parents and children [would have been in] protected construction is completely sheltered." a missile was fired from Yemen toward Israeli territory and an examination of the findings at the scene of impact at a school in Ramat Efal in central Israel it is likely that the damage was caused by partial interception of the missile launched from Yemen and that the missile warhead was the part that exploded and damaged the school." "Security forces are looking into damage caused by falling shrapnel in additional areas "The IAF and the Home Front Command are investigating the matter the findings will be made available to the public." this happens through the "Bat Ami" service girls and the "Ma'ayanot Garin Torani” these are "Reut girls," and the method is the same: the national service girls serve as a conduit for religious indoctrination in the state schools Parents are crying out: "This is a movement whose goal is to destroy the state and establish a Halacha state in its place." A Shomrim investigation in conjunction with Mako just ahead of the start of the new school year they fought to prevent young women from the religious Ma’ayanot Garin Torani from operating in their children’s schools Ma’ayanot was established almost a decade ago by a group of settlers from Mitzpeh Jericho under the leadership of Rabbi Yitzhak Sabato it was founded by people whose religious and often messianic worldview has very little in common with the secular liberal residents of Kiryat Ono and their children is what Sabato thinks about secular children from a Torah lesson he delivered in his yeshiva: “These children grow up without a clear identity; they grow up confused they don’t know what is good and what is bad or the difference between right and wrong what is permitted and what is forbidden.” Later in the same lesson he says: “There are those who observe the Torah and the commandments and those who do not We believe in our path and we do not believe in theirs was documented boasting about the Garin’s achievements when it comes to religionization: “Two boys who came to study for bar mitzvah lessons five or six years ago are now going to [national-religious pre-military] academies; from families who were completely secular (…) everyone here needs to take a neighborhood (…) and without you these souls are extinguished And there are many neighborhoods like this in Israel Their battle was successful and schools in the city stopped inviting young women from Ma’ayanot to hold educational activities a Shomrim investigation reveals that the group which was firmly escorted out of the front door Young women with connections to the same Garin Torani are now operating in these schools under a different name and within an apparently legitimate framework belonging to a body that is supported by the government of Israel and which is headed by the Education Ministry The body in question runs national service programs for religious young women called Bat Ami Of the 95 million shekels that Bat Ami was allocated in 2022 72 million shekels were for “services to the state.” “The girls from Bat Ami,” according to one parent who spoke to Shomrim The stated goals of its founders are to go into secular schools and encourage people to become more religious – as well as their vision of ‘the Greater Land of Israel.’ It’s happening in a lot of secular cities Kiryat Ono has become the jewel in the crown of this project They went into every school like wolves in sheep’s clothing; it’s desecularization in the guise of culture; religionization in the guise of pluralism – and it’s all wrapped up in this covering of cotton candy.” “The problem is that it is a movement which has the goal of destroying the country and establishing a Halacha state in its place,” another parent says “It is against the integration of women in the IDF anti-LGBTQ and is waging a war against secular culture These are the spiritual leaders of these girls and they send them to secular schools My secular worldview means that I cannot accept a situation in which they are the role models for the children they come into contact with – in a disproportionate manner It would be different if they only came to the school once or twice a year They have their own spot in the teachers’ room they are present in the school every day – teaching classes chaperoning field trips – and they belong to an organization that espouses an ideology that is antithetical to everything that the state-secular education system teaches.” “They do it in a very sophisticated manner and we are very naïve in this context,” says another parent the girls from national service teach about the Jewish holidays But there’s teaching about what is written in the Haggadah about the exodus from Egypt and the traditional Jewish stories that are not religious Or there will be a ‘spontaneous’ prayer in class or a ‘surprise’ afternoon activity with the national service girls whom the children already know from the classroom there will be a station for boys to wrap tefillin and ‘just by chance,’ there will be a sign offering candies for anyone who does there is an issue that all of the cities in Israel that call themselves secular and liberal are experiencing messianic Garinim Torani’im infiltrating their schools and trying to turn their children religious The parents’ concerns are not just theoretical using an operative plan that appears to be a system used not only in Kiryat Ono Garinim Torani’im are setting up shop in the heart of secular cities and sending the young women from national service into secular schools through various intermediary associations There is plenty of evidence linking many of these organizations Here are some examples of the link between Bat Ami and the Ma’ayanot Garin Torani in Kiryat Ono The connection starts on the Bat Ami website On the page dedicated to “The Kiryat Ono Garin – Bat Ami,” the young women in national service describe themselves as belonging to Ma’ayanot A video from last year that they posted on the same page under the title “Special Forces video clip – Ma’ayanot Garin Kiryat Ono,” leaves no room for doubt: “This is the Kiryat Ono Garin Spreading Judaism and bringing people closer is the same number that appears on the Keren Kehilot website’s entry for the Kiryat Ono Garin Torani where families are invited to join the group in the city In a recording of a conversation obtained by Shomrim Ben Shalom confirms that they operate as part of Ma’ayanot “I am the coordinator for the Bat Ami NGO,” she explains “Bat Ami is the organization that operates the national service for girls providing them with pocket money and things like that Bat Ami is not something different – it’s in addition Every national service girl has an organization behind her; so Bat Ami also operates its own national service girls she also explains that “a Garin Torani is a group of families that come to a city in order to forge connections between religious and secular people and national service girls are in fact integrated into the Garin Torani with communal activities My Garin is under the Garin Torani here in the city And we are very active – we continue working with the children in the afternoon the mornings are split up between activities provided by the Achy Association (the name comes from the Hebrew acronym for Israeli Social Solidarity) where it has a permanent presence in middle and high schools or activities provided by the Zehut (Identity) organization which operates in more than 1,300 schools and 135 local authorities across Israel “Every national service girl has to do something in the morning and something with the Garin in the afternoon,” Ben Shalom said in the same conversation when asked about how the girls’ day is structured “The girls go between elementary schools and teach classes that are linked to heritage the national service girls operate what they call “happening booths” in Kiryat Ono in the afternoon A QR code placed at one of these booths asked for donations and it led to the website of the Ma’ayanot Garin Torani Although Ben Shalom sounds full of confidence it is clear that she is also speaking very carefully She is well aware of the allegations of desecularization and even confirms that there are some activities that are designed to bring children closer to Judaism – but she insists that these activities focus on what she calls “bringing people closer together.” That terminology is all too familiar to parents who spoke to Shomrim about the matter “Bringing people closer together is a euphemistic term for turning them religious,” one of them says adding that it is hard to recruit parents to the struggle when they take the phrase at face value The most common response that he and other campaigners heard from parents was: “What’s wrong with a little Judaism?” “Chen the coordinator is a part-time employee of Bat Ami who is responsible on our behalf for the national service of girls during school activities The other part of her job is working on behalf of a local association called Ma’ayanot.” The statement from Bat Ami added that “national service girls who work in the Kiryat Ono Garin like dozens of task forces across the country work in the morning in schools under the define role and are allocated by the Education Ministry; and after the end of school studies they continue to volunteer in the community until the evening through local initiatives and organizations Bat Ami is proud to accompany more than 3,500 volunteers – boys and girls – in national service every year in the peripheries and in the center of the country.” Garinim Torani’im left their original goal – infiltrating socioeconomically challenged communities in the peripheries and mixed Jewish-Arab towns in order to “strengthen” them – far behind They are now also deployed in economically well-off cities which have a clearly liberal and secular character; places like Givatayim even in cities that have already fought to get the Garinim Torani’im out of their schools parents are finding that they are making a return thanks to the national service girls who are allowed into schools since they ostensibly are not part of a Garin Torani Bat Ami is the association which operates the national service girls – under the name of “Banot Re’ut” – which is part of a Garin Torani that already operates in the city (“La’ir et Ha’ir,” or Bring Light to the City) and which received around 4 million shekels of government funding in 2023 “a religious college for national service girls who teach at schools in Ramat Gan.” Zehut is also involved in providing the ideological framework for national service girls in Ramat Gan This ideology is passed from the national service girls to the children they engage with in state-run schools the organization “represents 37 associations working under the supervision of the Torah Culture Department in the Ministry of Education.” The organization’s vision is “strengthening the solidarity and common interests between the different segments of the Jewish nation.” It works in cooperation with official national service organizations and openly sends its representatives into schools – notwithstanding the fact that the worldview of its leaders is unpalatable to parents from the secular and liberal camp is what it says about Israeli Independence Day on the website of the Jaffa Garin Torani which was established by Rabbi Yuval Alpert “If you build the Land and settle it and call those who deal ‘a state,’ you must be very wary that the leadership in the country will be conducted according to the Holy Torah Instead of singing ‘Hatikvah,’ which declared that we want to be ‘a free people in our country’ – to be a people free of Torah and commandments God forbid – it would be very good to purify the national anthem by changing these words: ‘The Land of Israel without Torah is like a body without a soul’.” whose son attends an elementary school in Ramat Gan we realized that there was something called ‘Re’ut girls’ at school We found out through the parents of older children and we noticed that there are indeed classes led by these national service girls who ‘come to bring the light of Judaism to the school,’ as they call it and as appears on the Zehut website.” the blurring of connections when it comes to Re’ut is not sophisticated but does exist it does not mention the Re’ut girls at all,” says Yehoshua “It just says ‘On Tuesdays we study a variety of subjects’.” What are those subjects they are classes in various aspects of Judaism “When the teacher updates the parents about what the children have studied ‘this month we studied a range of interesting subjects’ It is clear that the Zehut organization and all its affiliates are aware that they have to operate quietly and that the more obvious they are the more opposition there will be.” the intense activity by Yehoshua and other parents came to an unexpected end following the struggle they launched before the outbreak of the war and which ended because of it “The Re’ut girls made a mistake,” he explains “In violation of the agreement with the school they talked about the war and Zehut project called ‘Filling the space,’ which involves talking to the children about October 7 and telling them that there were many miracles that day that all the soldiers are heroes and that what we need to do is adopt a fallen IDF soldier and do good deeds in his name They distributed their flyers in class and showed a video that depicted October 7 as the act of a devil who came down from heaven; there was no political context because that is their agenda and they talked about how many soldiers were killed and showed their photographs Then those parents who preferred not to join the struggle were also up in arms the school announced that the national service girls were out.” “I am very familiar with the industry of returning people to religion in Israel and I know how to identify nuances,” Yehoshua says “When they talk about ‘the light of Judaism,’ most parents think that it sounds somewhere between reasonable and harmless because I know that it is always accompanied by homophobia and misogyny and efforts to change the children’s agenda and their parents’ lifestyles This is not some kind of conspiracy theory.” There are currently 135 Garinim Torani’im in Israel the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions under the leadership of Religious Zionism MK Orit Struck received 86 requests for support last year compared to 66 Garinim Torani’im that submitted requests in 2022 Struk’s ministry is also responsible for the Authority for National-Civic Service which received an annual budget of around 132 million shekels in 2023 and around 92 million shekels this year according to data published by the Budget Key website Based on conversations with teachers and educators it appears that the main motivation for bringing national service girls into the classroom is the severe shortage of manpower that the education system is experiencing according to experts involved in the field that finding an alternative solution to the manpower shortage is one of the primary ways that the phenomenon can be curbed “We do not want them defining our children’s identity; we’ll deal with their identity alone,” says Marina Shmueli a mother and social activist from Ramat Gan who was one of the co-founders of the City Alliance which allows parents from different cities to engage with each other especially on the issue of national service girls in their children’s schools Among the issues they discuss is finding alternative solutions for the school principals one mother from Ramat Gan says that she succeeded in getting the national service girls removed from her children’s school by suggesting that the principal use the services of a different organization such as BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change which advocates for “a Jewish-Israeli identity which is centered on the connection between culture heritage and tradition and democratic values as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.” deputy mayor of Ramat Hasharon and a former social activist and city council member who dedicated much of his time to the matter told Shomrim about the struggle he was part of “We campaigned to get the national service girls out of the city We decided that any principal who says they have a problem or has a special need for these girls – in other words that they solve a budgetary problem for the school – will get funding the national service girls were removed from all the schools and kindergartens in Ramat Hasharon.” who runs an association dedicated to ensuring that state-run schools are free from external interference confirms that “the advantage of the national service girls is that they are cheap manpower paid in full by the state and not by the organization nationalist and often extremist agenda are allowed into the Ministry of Education and its schools “What is happening today is that religious organizations are being given preferential treatment by the state thanks to the fact that they cost less money Secular organizations have to recruit expensive manpower and pay minimum wages to attract teachers who can spread a democratic and liberal ideology in schools a national-religious organization that wants to spread a conservative religious ideology does not have to pay for that The state simply provides them with national service girls There is an entire sector which benefits from unfair competition because it gets its employees free from the state What they did was to establish inherent discrimination in favor of religious organizations.” a father and activist from Kiryat Ono who works as an analyst decided to get into the weeds and explains how it all works “There is a triangle between the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions under which all of the national service organizations operate; the National Service Division at the Education Ministry; and the schools The budgets and the funding come from Struk’s ministry which is responsible for taking in all those in national-civic service and allocating them to all kinds of places and the Education Ministry gets some proportion of the volunteers before deciding what it will do with that number of people “The Ministry of Education’s regulations say that it is supposed to work differently with volunteers sent to educational institutions according to a socioeconomic scale the peripheries and poorer communities are supposed to get volunteers; a school in an affluent socioeconomic region is not which are in wealthy neighborhoods where the population is affluent and comes from a high socioeconomic grouping and are not supposed to get any national service volunteers – are getting lots of them.” “I went to the school principal and I said that she has volunteers from the national service program teaching lessons with exclusively Jewish content and efforts to bring the children closer to religion If there are national service volunteers available but I want you to bring a much more diverse population Let’s try and take the volunteers from elsewhere; there are secular volunteers Druze volunteers – there are even retired volunteers who used to be physics teachers.” The principal agreed and told Dor to contact the Ministry of Education He did so and asked how the school could go about replacing its volunteers He was told that the principal should fill out an online form defining her school’s needs but when the form was sent to the principal and she tried to enter the number of volunteers required the system told her that her school was not entitled to any volunteers Dor contacted the Ministry of Education and was told that he had nothing to worry about and that the volunteers would not be taken away from the school That was the only explanation he received and was not able to bring in replacement volunteers “I told them that we don’t want volunteers from Garinim Torani’im Something that would enrich the children or enhance their core curriculum.A Ministry of Education official told me This is the allocation and that’s that.’ And then I realized that the school is not actually entitled to any volunteers it appears that we have an apparatus that funds national service volunteers in rich cities and insists that these volunteers come exclusively from Garinim Torani’im.” The Ministry of Education submitted the following response: “The Ministry of Education vehemently rejects attempts to ascribe to the national service program extraneous motives National service exists first and foremost to strengthen Israeli society and it is based on the values of mutual responsibility and communal activity Schools operate with complete independence when it comes to choosing their national service volunteers define their areas of activity and ensure that they are integrated into roles which advance educational emotional and social well-being in predefined areas – irrespective of the religious or secular background of the students.” The response went on to say that “the volunteers come from a wide range of associations and are integrated out of a sense of commitment to the values of the educational system National service is an important part of strengthening the educational system The Authority for National-Civic Service within the Ministry of Settlements and National Missions said that the responses submitted by the Ministry of Education and Bat Ami are sufficient Shomrim did not receive responses from Zehut Kiryat Ono and Ramat Gan city councils or the Ma’ayanot and La’ir et Ha’ir Garinim Torani’im Shomrim - The Center for Media and DemocracyWe believe investigative journalism is the foundation for safekeeping the fundamental human rights of every Israeli citizen We are committed to investing our time and resources to promote it The Center for Media and Democracy© Copyright The Center for Media and Democracy Inc Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker