- Source: Streams Method in Israeli education
The Streams Method in the Israeli education refers to the division of education in Israel into ideological and party-based streams. This method was practiced in the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel and later among the Jewish public in the State of Israel from the beginning of modern education (in the 1920s) until the enactment of the State Education Law on August 12, 1953. There were three main educational streams: the Labor stream, the General stream, and the Mizrahi (Oriental) stream, in addition to one stream recognized as official after the establishment of the state, the stream of Agudat Israel. Additionally, Talmud Torah schools and Kol Israel Chaverim institutions remained non-partisan.
History
Party-based education was introduced in the 1920s, during the British Mandate period. The Jewish settlers in the Land of Israel were interested in implementing education that would transmit ideals and provide a general education to the next generation. Since the British Mandate authorities did not establish a mandatory education system, and before a sovereign state could exercise educational control, the political parties operated their own educational systems.
During this period, the parties took on many roles that in a normal state would be the responsibility of state systems or non-partisan voluntary organizations. For example, the parties established sports organizations (Hapoel of the Labor movement, Elitzur for the religious, Beitar for the Revisionists, and so on) and security forces (the Haganah for the Labor movement, and the Irgun and Lehi for the right-wing streams).
Streams
The streams were quite autonomous. They differed from each other in various principles, mainly regarding religion and socialism. Each stream was responsible for training its teachers and setting its curriculum and pedagogical principles.
= General Stream
=The most significant and largest among the streams, as of 1948, educated 50.2% of the Jews. It was ideologically identified with the General Zionists although in terms of content it was indeed general, as its name suggests.
The General Stream advocated for national-traditional education based on "the spiritual possessions common to all segments of the people" while integrating scientific achievements. The leaders of the stream aimed it at the entire population, hoping that the benches of the general school would be occupied by both religious and secular students from all ethnic groups. The curriculum was based on the belief that it is necessary to create a unified society and that education should be "general" in nature and not partisan. Based on this stream, the state school was later established, following the enactment of the State Education Law.
= Labor Stream
=The Labor Stream was founded in 1923 and included schools of the General Federation of Labor.
It was the second largest stream, educating 27.8% of the Jews by 1948. It was ideologically identified with the Labor movement and the General Federation of Workers, politically associated with Mapai and Mapam.
The Labor Stream advocated for socialist-worker education by "forming a Jewish-chalutz (pioneer)-independent personality, imbued with a Zionist-socialist vision, ready to realize in body and soul the mission of the Hebrew socialist labor movement in the country." The schools of the Labor stream aimed to direct their students towards "realization" - pioneering settlement in kibbutzim based on pure socialism. They also aimed to guide students towards activity in the socialist youth movements.
In the educational institutions of the Labor stream, two flags were flown - the flag of Israel alongside the red flag symbolizing the socialist ideology. They sang "Tehazakna" and the Internationale alongside Hatikvah. May Day was observed as a day of rest, and its importance was equivalent to other holidays.
A religious sub-stream, known as the religious Labor stream or the religious Peshat, was associated with this stream.
= Mizrachi Stream
=The idea of establishing a religious-national educational stream was raised with the founding of the Mizrachi movement by Rabbi Yaakov Reines in Vilna, and towards its implementation, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon went to the Land of Israel in 1905. The beginning of education in this spirit is the Talmud Torah "Achva" in Jaffa, which became "Tachkemoni."
This was the third largest stream, educating 22.5% of the Jews by 1948. It was ideologically identified with the religious Zionist parties, the Mizrachi movement, and the Hapoel HaMizrachi. With the recognition of the Agudat Israel stream, the establishment of the religious Labor stream, processes of secularization, and the application of uniform education to immigrants, the percentage of students studying in the institutions of this stream decreased.
The Mizrachi stream advocated for Orthodox religious education combined with Zionism and modernism. Its goal was to impart national-religious education. The schools of the Mizrachi taught secular subjects - sciences, humanities, and languages. In the Mizrachi stream, most religious students and many from the Eastern communities were educated. Some religious parents chose to send their children to schools of the General stream due to their identification with the non-partisan message.
The schools of the Mizrachi stream were called "Tachkemoni". Rabbi Kook wrote about the first school bearing this name in 1908 to the members of Mizrachi in Europe:
"In the holy city of Jaffa, there is already a school, whose purpose matches their honorable desire, and it is the 'Tachkemoni' school, which combines Torah and wisdom, and the dominance of the Hebrew language as the language of instruction, founded entirely according to the peaceful wishes of the faith of Israel, in a manner that all who fear God and heed His word can find their desire, and all can enter under the name of 'Mizrachi' school."
= Agudat Israel Stream
=Unlike the other existing streams from the early days of the settlement, the Agudat Israel stream only received official recognition in 1948, with the establishment of the State of Israel. This recognition was led by the tireless efforts of Agudat Israel's president, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin. This stream was the fourth largest and was identified with the non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox parties, Agudat Israel and Poalei Agudat Israel.
The initial recognition came in the form of the Status Quo letter sent by David Ben-Gurion and Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishman Maimon in the summer of 1947. The approach to Agudat Israel, which until then had been an anti-Zionist party, was intended to enlist its help in persuading the UN Special Committee to recommend the establishment of a Jewish state. In the letter, Ben-Gurion promised, among other things, full recognition of the educational stream's autonomy attached to the movement, except for minimal educational requirements in language, sciences, and history. The decision to recognize the non-Zionist stream of Agudat Israel stemmed from three main factors:
The Jewish settlement, loyal to the principles of associative democracy, sought to create as broad a coalition as possible in anticipation of the impending statehood. It saw such a coalition as necessary to apply the state's sovereignty to all parts of the public. Thus, the government hoped to integrate the ultra-Orthodox public into the future state and turn its members into loyal citizens. There was also hope that Agudat Israel would leverage its extensive connections with world Jewry and mobilize it in support of the young state.
Among the Zionist parties, there was a belief that after the establishment of the state, Agudat Israel would fully adopt a Zionist ideology, and the anti-Zionist characteristics would disappear.
Among the secular Jewish public, there was a belief that the winds of modernism would quickly eradicate ultra-Orthodoxy. Agudat Israel, for its part, justified the profound ideological change with pragmatic-rational arguments - state support would channel budgets that would save the movement's education, which was in financial distress. Not all ultra-Orthodox streams agreed with Agudat Israel's position, and some remained anti-Zionist, such as the Edah HaChareidis and Neturei Karta.
Over the following years, the Agudat Israel education stream grew significantly, especially due to the particularly high birth rate in the ultra-Orthodox sector and also supported by the wave of returnees to faith, some of whom joined the ultra-Orthodox community.
Abolition of the Streams and the Introduction of State Education
After the establishment of the State of Israel, the responsibility for education shifted from the National Council to the provisional government. In 1949, a Compulsory Education Law was enacted, requiring every child from age 5 to 13 to study in an official educational institution from one of the four streams. At this stage, the parties had not yet agreed on establishing a unified school for all children of Israel. The supporters of this were Mapai alongside the right-wing parties and the General Zionists, while the opponents were the religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, fearing the secular nature of the unified school, and on the other side, the left-wing parties, fearing damage to labor values. Since the Compulsory Education Law did not apply to children of immigrant camps, the Jewish Agency established a network for uniform education, leading to criticism of anti-religious coercion from Yemenite immigrants and the appointment of the Fromkin Committee. The crisis created by the debates over the religious parties' authority over education led to Ben-Gurion's resignation as Prime Minister and the fall of the second government of Israel.
On August 12, 1953, the State Education Law was enacted, effectively unifying only the General and Labor streams. The Mizrachi stream was institutionalized and became the state religious education. The Agudat Israel stream remained autonomous due to the Status Quo agreement and was recognized as the independent education of the ultra-Orthodox public. However, in recent years, there has been a call among the ultra-Orthodox public for the establishment of state-religious education.
Further reading
שושנה סיטון. חינוך ברוח המולדת: התכנית החינוכית של" מועצת המורים למען הקק"ל".1995.
Dr. Tzvi Tzameret, "How Did Immigrants in the Early Days of the State of Israel Shape the Educational System?. Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies. World Union of Jewish Studies,1997.