The National Labor Court is expected on Sunday to decide whether it will order the striking teachers back to the classrooms as the Secondary School Teachers' Association (SSTA) walkout enters its 46th day.
The wrangling on wages and working conditions continued Saturday night, again with no resolution. Teachers and Finance Ministry officials submitted their positions to the court in an attempt to reach a compromise.
According to SSTA head Ran Erez, unofficial talks brought some progress, but not enough to bring the teachers back to school. He added that if the teachers are ordered by the court to return to the classrooms, it may not bring all of them back, nor will it necessarily result in a real education for the students.
"As an organization, we will honor them (the court orders – ed.). However, some teachers will not listen to me and will decide to resign," warned Erez. "Those who do not will go back to school without hope. It is not clear whether parents will choose to send their children to school when the teachers are working under an injunction."
Efforts to get a grassroots sympathy strike going in other grades brought mixed results by Sunday morning.
The National Parents Organization (NPO) called for a walkout in elementary and middle schools, which would include grades 1-12, as a show of solidarity with striking high school teachers. A spokeswoman for the group said, however, that individual parents would decide whether or not to send their children to school.
Parents groups in 80 towns voted with their children's book bags, sending them off to class as usual.
Teachers in the elementary and middle schools reassured parents that all schools would be open on Sunday despite the calls for a strike.
While the Finance Ministry has agreed to give teachers a raise in exchange for increased school hours, it has not agreed to reduce class sizes from 40 to 30 students. While government negotiators agreed that it is necessary to reduce class size, Education Minister Yuli Tamir noted that this would be a process that could take years.
Supporters have hung flyers in major cities with slogans including, "120 Members of Knesset sit in luxurious offices and are trying to force 40 children back into a crowded classroom."