The Center for Local Government filed a petition with the Labor Court on Sunday against the Teachers' Union, seeking injunctions to block planned disruptions to school year preparations in high schools. The move follows a threat by Teachers' Union chairman Ran Erez to boycott preparation days and delay the opening of the school year.
Erez issued the threat last week, stating that unless the Ministry of Finance reaches an agreement with the union, he would instruct teachers not to participate in preparation days at the end of August and to stay out of classrooms until September 1.
Meanwhile, a separate dispute is unfolding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministries of Education and National Security over funding for school security. At the heart of the disagreement is the fate of approximately NIS 250 million allocated in the 2025 state budget to the Ministry of National Security for securing educational institutions.
In recent days, the ministries have traded blame over the handling of the funds. The Ministry of National Security has demanded immediate access to the budget, while the Ministry of Education warned that without a clear budgetary solution, the upcoming school year could be in jeopardy.
The Ministry of Finance, however, insists that the funds were indeed transferred to the Ministry of National Security as part of the 2025 budget. According to the Finance Ministry, Haim Katz—who took over the portfolio following Itamar Ben-Gvir’s resignation—redirected the funds to other ministry priorities.