Teachers threaten to continue protests in Israel: 'You'll be left without education'

On Tuesday evening, the leaders of the protesting teachers threatened to continue disrupting the education system today and to escalate their struggle. Several hundred teachers announced they have already prepared resignation letters and will not hesitate to use them.

“Teaching staff in Israel are intensifying their sanctions. Due to the refusal to engage in dialogue and the ongoing decrees against educators, a significant escalation has been decided: schools will not open tomorrow, and thousands of teachers are organizing a mass resignation wave. The message is clear: those who destroy education – will be left without it,” the leaders of the protest movement stated.

The Ministry of Education responded, “The claim that deliberate absence by educators does not result in salary deductions is incorrect and misleading. The opposite is true. Teachers who miss several days of work will see deductions of thousands of shekels in their end-of-month pay.”

“The policy is clear: any unjustified absence will be deducted from the salary. A medical certificate does not legitimize an organized absence as part of sanctions and will be considered unjustified. Educators disrupting the education system are acting in violation of a labor court order, which explicitly prohibited such sanctions, especially after an agreement was signed with the official union. All educators are expected to respect the court’s decisions,” the ministry added.

Ran Erez, chairman of the Secondary School Teachers Association, declared this evening that the union would provide a personal lawyer for any member whose salary is deducted while presenting a medical certificate: “We will not allow any salary cuts during legitimate sick leave. The Israel Teachers Union represents all its members, including kindergarten teachers, elementary, middle, and high school staff – legally and professionally.”

According to estimates, 200 to 300 schools are closed today. Protest leaders claimed that special education teachers also joined the struggle. School principals and supervisors are exerting heavy pressure on teachers to return to work.

Despite the unofficial strike, many teachers are concerned that, in light of the state’s threats, any teacher who declared illness after Independence Day will have their salary docked. As part of the Ministry of Education's efforts to curb the protest, school principals were instructed today to submit attendance reports for absent teachers.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education summoned one teacher for a hearing over participating in the “sick leave strike.” A ministry source claimed that more hearing letters are ready – but have not yet been sent, as they see signs that the protest is waning.

Due to the disruptions, the ministry is considering scheduling an additional date for the national Meitzav exam in Hebrew for sixth graders, which was held today. The exam was supposed to include 1,200 representative classes, but many schools in central Israel were closed, which could affect the reliability of the results.

Yesterday, according to the Ministry of Education, around 20,000 educators reported being “sick” and did not show up to teach, despite the agreement reached between the Israel Teachers Union and the Ministry of Finance. Protest leaders said they have already begun receiving voluntary assistance from a lawyer and a public relations specialist to help “fuel” the protest.