Police, Health Ministry in discussions with haredi leadership about schools’ closures
Rabbis rule to reduce class sizes in accordance with Health Ministry directives
The police and Health Ministry have been in discussions with ultra-Orthodox rabbis and yeshiva deans to impress upon them the importance of adhering to government instructions regarding the closure of schools and other educational institutions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Late Sunday night, the senior rabbinic leadership of the Ashkenazi, non-hassidic haredi community, rabbis Chaim Kanievsky and Gershon Edelstein, decided to keep open educational institutions in the sector but to do so “in accordance with principles of the Health Ministry.”
Many elementary and high schools in the haredi community have indeed continued to operate, albeit with changes to accommodate Health Ministry instructions.
The Shas Maayan Hinuch Torani network of primary schools for the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox community have closed, and some hassidic communities, including the Gerrer Hassidim, have stopped formal studies.
Many schools in the Ashkenazi, non-hassidic, and Lithuanian, haredi community have continued to operate, although most of their girls’ schools have closed.
An Education
Ministry source told The Jerusalem Post such activity is in complete violation of its orders, which state clearly that studies shall not take place in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
Enforcement of these orders is in the hands of the police and Health Ministry, the source said.
According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, senior police and Health Ministry officials met with haredi leaders, rabbis and yeshiva deans to communicate how important it is that schools close.
The ultra-Orthodox representatives agreed to reduce class sizes and implement the required distance between individuals in classes but not yet close schools.
In some cases, classrooms in girls schools reportedly have been used for the ongoing studies of boys. It is unclear to what extent the number of pupils in haredi classrooms
has been reduced.
Full compliance of government