The New School Year Opened Today: Progressive Civil Education Amid Division
Today, across the Amal Educational Network’s fifty schools, the first day of the Tashpav school year unfolded as an emotional milestone—woven with resilience and hope amid ongoing war and societal division. Principals and teachers welcomed students from diverse backgrounds: Jewish, Arab, Druze, Bedouin, center and periphery, some arriving without parents who remain in army posts, others carrying the weight of uncertainty and collective trauma.
This year, Amal celebrates growth, welcoming two new communities into its network and expanding the reach of inclusive, state-democratic education. In Tel Aviv, high schoolers face a major new challenge: stricter policies restricting phone use in schools, encouraging greater focus, connection, and reflection—a significant step in adapting to the realities and distractions of the digital age.
Recent surveys reveal that nearly a quarter of Israeli students—especially older youth in religious and Arab communities—believe some groups do not belong in Israeli society, exposing deep polarization. For Amal, this underscores the urgent need for education rooted in empathy, dialogue, and pluralism. The network remains steadfast, together with forty liberal authorities, in teaching democratic values and confronting any attempt to limit them in official curricula and exams.
Amal educates around 30,000 students with the support of nearly 3,000 staff members, serving half of its schools in Israel’s demographic and geographic periphery. This diverse network includes 32 high schools and 19 middle schools across 20 local and regional authorities, shaping a more inclusive future for all segments of Israeli society.
To mark this special day, the Amal executive team visited every school to honor principals—both new and experienced—and teachers across the network, greeting them in person and presenting gifts as a tribute to their unwavering commitment to the next generation. The presence of the leadership affirmed Amal’s determination to foster hope and unity through education, ensuring that Isreal will be rebuilt through education.