Informing
Policy
for Progress
November 16, 2026
9:30-16:00

Between Distinct Educational Streams and a Common Core – Directions for Israel’s Education System: Policy, Reality, and Vision

A Conference of the Education Group at the Samuel Neaman Institute

Every day, around 500 babies are born in Israel. Imagine four of them, born into families from four different “tribes” of Israeli society: secular Jewish, religious Jewish, Haredi, and Arab. At birth, they will all be given the same diaper in the hospital nursery. But when they leave Israel’s education system, what will they still have in common?
At the conference “Between Distinct Educational Streams and a Common Core: Directions for Israel’s Education System – Policy, Practice, and Vision,” we will ask: Is there a common core shared by all students in Israel? If so, what does it consist of? And what would the “parents of those babies” and their educators want it to be?
Alongside findings from research conducted at the Samuel Neaman Institute, the conference will bring together educators, researchers, policymakers, and former Ministers of Education. They will offer diverse perspectives on core curricula, their assessment, and the challenges of adapting them to a diverse education system. We will conclude by looking ahead at the opportunities and challenges involved in building a common core for the next generation.

Registration Form

Program

Coming soon
Among the participants (in alphabetical order)
  • Gal Alon, Director General of Israel's National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education
  • Prof. Muhammad Amara, President at Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education
  • Prof. Asher Cohen, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Studies, Bar-Ilan University
  • Dr. Tammy Hoffman - The Israel Democracy Institute
  • Dr. Yehuda Maimaran, Mandel School for Educational Leadership
  • Prof. Lotem Perry-Hazan, Department of Leadership and Policy in Education, University of Haifa
  • Shai Moshe Piron,  PNIMA president  and former Minister of Education
  • Prof. Yuli (Yael) Tamir, President at Beit Berl College and former Minister of Education

A Conference of the Education Group at the Samuel Neaman Institute

Every day, around 500 babies are born in Israel. Imagine four of them, born into families from four different “tribes” of Israeli society: secular Jewish, religious Jewish, Haredi, and Arab. At birth, they will all be given the same diaper in the hospital nursery. But when they leave Israel’s education system, what will they still have in common?
At the conference “Between Distinct Educational Streams and a Common Core: Directions for Israel’s Education System – Policy, Practice, and Vision,” we will ask: Is there a common core shared by all students in Israel? If so, what does it consist of? And what would the “parents of those babies” and their educators want it to be?
Alongside findings from research conducted at the Samuel Neaman Institute, the conference will bring together educators, researchers, policymakers, and former Ministers of Education. They will offer diverse perspectives on core curricula, their assessment, and the challenges of adapting them to a diverse education system. We will conclude by looking ahead at the opportunities and challenges involved in building a common core for the next generation.

Registration Form