The Education Ministry published a circular on Monday announcing the establishment of regulations and guidelines for the laying of tefillin in public schools.
The announcement detailed that students attending public schools who request to lay tefillin must be permitted to do so on school grounds, and mandates that schools designate specific times and places for the laying of tefillin.
According to the Education Ministry, the mandate was created in response to numerous inquiries about a lack of uniform guidelines on the matter. The inquiries claimed that the absence of regulation “created uncertainty, different interpretations, and sometimes even unnecessary friction and conflict around the putting on of tefillin.”
The directive aimed to establish clear, uniform rules and provide school principals with a guided framework to facilitate the policy's implementation throughout the public school system.
Tefillin guidelines to be included in general school rules
The Education Ministry stated that, effective immediately, school tefillin rules must be included in, and published with, the general school rules.
The announcement clarified that the responsibility for bringing tefillin to school and arriving at classes on time after laying tefillin rests solely with students who choose to participate, and that the activity must not affect learning or school routines.
The ministry recommended that schools promote the policy through open dialogue with school staff, leadership, parents' associations, and student councils. The ministry also stated that it hoped to implement the regulation while maintaining a respectful educational climate and a shared sense of community.
Laying tefillin should not be controversial, Education Minister says
Education Minister Yoav Kisch asserted that “laying tefillin in the Jewish state is not a subject for controversy or local interpretations.”
“It is a fundamental right, a basic tradition, and a source of national pride. The lack of regulation that accompanied the system for years created friction and uncertainty that harmed students, parents, and school administrations,” he added in a statement released by the Education Ministry.
Kisch stated that the new directive will bring order, providing school administrators with clear rules that ensure that “any student who wishes to do so can pray and lay tefillin in a respectful, regulated, and natural manner.”
“Today, we are strengthening Jewish identity and connecting the younger generation to our deep roots and heritage values,” Kisch said.
Dr. Yifat Solely, Vice President of Hiddush, an Israeli NGO that advocates religious pluralism and opposes religious coercion, responded to the new regulation, saying, "The Director General's circular accepted our position, according to which tefillin stands must not be set up in public spaces within schools, preventing them from becoming centers of indoctrination.”
"As we have requested all along, schools are now required to create a designated room, allowing those who genuinely wish to do so to practice this using private tefillin brought from home," he concluded.