The fight over the inclusion of core curriculum subjects in the ultra-Orthodox educational system took a surprising turn on Feb. 13 when Knesset member Moshe Gafni (Yahadut HaTorah) announced that ultra-Orthodox schools that teach “secular subjects” will be established. By “secular subjects,” he meant primarily math and English, which are recognized universally as the basis for more advanced academic studies and professional training. Over the years, the ultra-Orthodox parties have blocked the introduction of core curriculum subjects to the independent, ultra-Orthodox network of schools. Efforts to deny state funding to those schools that refuse to teach these subjects have, so far, failed.

According to Gafni, “[The schools will be established], if there is a demand from parents. They will be opened wherever a group [of parents] organizes to found a school with more secular studies.” So far, it remains unclear whether Gafni’s revolutionary announcement is a mere campaign promise or whether it comes from a genuine recognition that such a compromise is preferable to the growing trend of establishing state-run ultra-Orthodox schools.

The background to Gafni’s announcement is the enormous change underway in the ultra-Orthodox sector that includes less self-imposed isolation and increased openness to non-ultra-Orthodox society, greater identification with the state and its values, and real growth in the number of people from the ultra-Orthodox sector, men and women alike, joining the workforce.

The phenomenon has bolstered and expanded the so-called new ultra-Orthodox, an emerging group that hold jobs and make a decent living, increasing their quality of life as a result, and who no longer isolate themselves in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, towns and villages. They attribute great importance to education and would like to see their children exposed to a broader curriculum than that offered by the independent ultra-Orthodox school system, which focuses almost entirely on religious studies. To meet this educational demand, in 2014 Education Minister Shai Piron created a state-run ultra-Orthodox school network that now includes several dozen elementary and high schools that teach math, English and sciences alongside religious studies.