Do Jewish and Arab Children Go to Separate Schools in Israel?
Israel runs separate Hebrew and Arab school frameworks: 251,727 primary pupils were in state Arab education in 2021/22. 1,772 attended bilingual schools.
Israel’s schools run in separate Hebrew and Arab frameworks: 251,727 of the country’s 1,116,774 primary pupils, 23%, were in state Arab education in 2021/22, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded in November 2022. The Centre’s 2019 paper states that the State of Israel has maintained separate education frameworks since its founding, according to the nationality and religiosity of the pupils’ parents. Jewish and Arab pupils also study together in schools that define themselves as bilingual. The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 1,772 pupils in those schools in 2018/19.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1,116,774 | Primary pupils across all four supervision streams | 2021/22 school year |
| 251,727 (23%) | Primary pupils in state Arab education | 2021/22 school year |
| 434,527 (39%) | Primary pupils in state Hebrew education | 2021/22 school year |
| 268,169 (24%) | Primary pupils in Haredi education | 2021/22 school year |
| 162,351 (14%) | Primary pupils in state religious education | 2021/22 school year |
| 1,772 | Pupils in schools that defined themselves as bilingual Hebrew-Arabic | 2018/19 school year |
| 8 | Bilingual schools, 7 primary and 1 secondary, by their own definition | 2018/19 school year |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, the 2022 paper for the 2021/22 rows and the 2019 paper for the 2018/19 rows. The shares are of the 1,116,774 primary pupils.
The Knesset Research Centre records separate school frameworks since Israel’s founding
Yes. The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that Israel has kept separate education frameworks for Jewish and Arab pupils since the state was founded, defined by the parents’ nationality and religiosity. The Centre’s January 2019 paper puts it in one sentence:
“מדינת ישראל מקיימת מאז הקמתה מסגרות חינוך נפרדות על פי הלאום והדתיות של הורי התלמידים”
In English: “since its founding the State of Israel has maintained separate education frameworks according to the nationality and religiosity of the pupils’ parents.”
- The 2019 paper, Bilingual (Hebrew-Arabic) Institutions in the Education System, is dated 21 January 2019.
- The 2022 paper, Structure of the Education System, Key Legislation and General Data, is dated 27 November 2022. It divides the system by sector into Hebrew education and Arab education.
- The 2019 paper also records a growing number of initiatives that cross the separation, which are the bilingual schools counted below.
- Both papers are published in Hebrew by the Knesset’s own research service.
251,727 primary pupils, 23%, were in state Arab education
State Arab education held 251,727 of Israel’s 1,116,774 primary pupils in 2021/22, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded, drawing on the Ministry of Education’s own data by supervision stream. Hebrew education is itself split three ways: state, state religious and Haredi. The four streams together make up the 1,116,774.
| Supervision stream | Primary pupils | Share of 1,116,774 |
|---|---|---|
| State Hebrew | 434,527 | 39% |
| Haredi | 268,169 | 24% |
| State Arab | 251,727 | 23% |
| State religious | 162,351 | 14% |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, November 2022, for the 2021/22 school year. The counts are of primary pupils only.
Arab education includes Bedouin, Druze and Circassian pupils, the Knesset states
Arab education includes Bedouin, Druze and Circassian pupils, the Knesset Research and Information Centre states in its 2022 paper. Hebrew education also serves most children who are neither Jewish nor Arab. The sector line is drawn between two education systems, each with its own population.
- Hebrew education serves Jewish pupils and most children who are neither Jewish nor Arab.
- Arab education serves Arab pupils, and includes Bedouin, Druze and Circassian pupils.
- Within Hebrew education, primary pupils are divided by supervision into state, state religious and Haredi streams, 865,047 between them in 2021/22 on the three published counts.
- State Arab education is a single supervision stream of 251,727 primary pupils in 2021/22.
1,772 pupils attended 8 bilingual Hebrew-Arabic schools in 2018/19
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 1,772 pupils in 8 bilingual Hebrew-Arabic schools in 2018/19, up from 1,121 in 2013/14, a rise of about 58%. Arab pupils were the larger group in those schools. The 2019 paper sets the 1,772 against about 1.2 million pupils in regular state-supervised schools.
| Pupils in bilingual schools | Number | Share of 1,772 |
|---|---|---|
| Arab | 1,019 | 58% |
| Jewish | 662 | 37% |
| Others | 91 | 5% |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Centre, January 2019, for the 2018/19 school year.
- The 8 schools were 7 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
- At least 15 kindergartens also defined themselves as bilingual in 2018/19.
- The first bilingual framework opened at Neve Shalom in 1984.
The Ministry of Education has no official definition of bilingual school
The Ministry of Education has no official definition of a bilingual school, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded in its 2019 paper. The count of 8 therefore rests on the schools’ own self-description as recorded by the Centre, and is not a count published by the Ministry of Education.
- Bilingual schools are founded by parent communities and non-governmental organisations, not by the Ministry of Education.
- The Ministry gives them no additional funding for their bilingual model.
- Some charge parents NIS 2,000 to NIS 5,000 a year per pupil, in 2017/18.
- The 1,772 counts pupils in self-defined bilingual schools only. Arab pupils enrolled in ordinary Hebrew-education schools, and Jewish pupils in Arab-education schools, are not counted in it, and the two papers publish no figure for either.
The 1,772 may not be added to the 2021/22 counts
- The 2021/22 counts are of primary pupils, compiled by the Knesset Research and Information Centre from the Ministry of Education’s own data by supervision stream.
- The 1,772 is a 2018/19 count of primary and secondary pupils in self-defined bilingual schools. It may not be added to the 2021/22 counts or set as a share of the 1,116,774.
- The 865,047 for the three Hebrew streams is a sum of three published counts, not a figure printed in the paper.
- The 1.2 million is approximate, as the 2019 paper gives it, and stays approximate.
- Figures for two bilingual schools, in Jaffa and Haifa, come from the Hand in Hand association, the 2019 paper notes in a footnote.
Questions readers ask
How many primary pupils are there in Israel?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 1,116,774 primary pupils in 2021/22, across four supervision streams: state Hebrew, state religious, Haredi and state Arab.
How many children are in Arab schools in Israel?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 251,727 primary pupils in state Arab education in 2021/22, 23% of all primary pupils. The figure covers primary schooling only.
What share of primary pupils are in Haredi schools?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 268,169 primary pupils in Haredi education in 2021/22, 24% of the 1,116,774 total.
Which schools do Druze children attend?
Druze pupils are part of Arab education, the Knesset Research and Information Centre states in its 2022 paper, alongside Bedouin and Circassian pupils.
Where do children who are neither Jewish nor Arab go to school?
Most of them study in Hebrew education, the Knesset Research and Information Centre stated in November 2022.
Is there a law that requires separate Jewish and Arab schools?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre states that separate frameworks have been maintained since the founding, defined by the parents’ nationality and religiosity. Its 2019 paper records initiatives that cross the separation and does not describe mixed attendance as prohibited.
How many bilingual Jewish-Arab schools are there in Israel?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 8 schools defining themselves as bilingual in 2018/19, 7 primary and 1 secondary, plus at least 15 kindergartens.
How many children go to bilingual schools?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre counted 1,772 pupils in bilingual schools in 2018/19: 1,019 Arab, 662 Jewish and 91 others.
Has enrolment in bilingual schools grown?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded 1,772 pupils in 2018/19 against 1,121 in 2013/14, a rise of about 58%.
When did the first bilingual school open?
The first bilingual framework opened at Neve Shalom in 1984, the Knesset Research and Information Centre states in its 2019 paper.
Who sets up bilingual schools?
Parent communities and non-governmental organisations found them, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded in January 2019.
Do bilingual schools charge fees?
Some charge parents NIS 2,000 to NIS 5,000 a year per pupil, the Knesset Research and Information Centre recorded for 2017/18.
How many Arab children attend ordinary Hebrew-language schools?
The Knesset Research and Information Centre published no such count in these papers. Its 1,772 covers self-defined bilingual schools only.
Sources
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2019. מוסדות דו-לשוניים (עברית-ערבית) במערכת החינוך (Bilingual (Hebrew-Arabic) Institutions in the Education System). Written by Assaf Weininger, 21 January 2019. https://fs.knesset.gov.il/globaldocs/MMM/a545ecef-6efc-e811-80e7-00155d0aeea3/2_a545ecef-6efc-e811-80e7-00155d0aeea3_11_10879.pdf. Official or primary record.
- Knesset Research and Information Centre, 2022. מבנה מערכת החינוך, חקיקה מרכזית ונתונים כלליים (Structure of the Education System, Key Legislation and General Data). Written by Micha Noy, 27 November 2022. https://fs.knesset.gov.il/globaldocs/MMM/9bda3de0-dd37-ed11-8153-005056aa4246/2_9bda3de0-dd37-ed11-8153-005056aa4246_11_19791.pdf. Official or primary record, on Ministry of Education data.
