Minister of Education Naftali Bennett has authorized haredi-religious educational institutions to teach Yiddish and to receive a government budget as if they had taught English. The new regulations, initiated by Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush, stipulate that those which include secular subjects (in addition to their religious, Torah-based studies) will receive up to 55% of the cost of a staff position plus the cost of a security coordinator.
The required subjects specified in the new regulations are Hebrew, mathematics, another language, Bible, nature, history, heritage and physical activity. Member of Knesset Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid) said the decision teaches "sectorialism is in, core subjects are out. This is an unfortunate decision that harms haredi students first and foremost and keeps them out of the labor market. We should preserve the languages of our countries of origin, but not at the expense of English, mathematics and science."