The Belz outline was an agreement that was signed in June 2022 between then-Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and the Education Ministry, re-regulating the core curriculum studies in Haredi institutions, according to which, if said institutions teach Hebrew, math, and English, they would receive a government even if they are not registered a part of the state education network. In the end, the outline’s namesake, the Belz Hassidic dynasty which had initiated it, was vetoed by United Torah Judaism and dropped out.
Liberman was furious and blamed the Belz betrayal on his archnemesis, Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly promised to increase the Belz budget without core curriculum studies when he became prime minister.
In June, Belz officials blamed UTJ for “throwing them to the dogs” in the budget negotiations, by grabbing the educational budgets for other Haredi institutions. According to News13, the Belz movement is considering getting back on the core curriculum path and has approached the education ministry and private donors to help provide them with teachers and study material.
Now, according to a Makor Rishon report on Monday, first-tier Lithuanian leaders, including two who have been mentioned as leading candidates to become the next “gadol hador” (leader of the generation), are discussing ways to deal with the challenges of integrating core curriculum subjects into the Haredi yeshivas’ programs.
The unofficial move comes in response to news about a growing number of Haredi parents who register their children in State Haredi schools, where they receive a full secular curriculum that has been adjusted by education experts to coexist with Torah study.
According to Eliyahu Berkowitz in Makor Rishon, whether the news about Belz and the statistics about Haredi parents veering toward Haredi public schools is absolutely real or not, the danger of losing thousands of Haredi children to educational systems outside the UTJ’s controlled sphere is a gun that’s been placed on the tables of politicians such as MK Moshe Gafni and Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf.
Into this already simmering educational scene entered Rabbi David Label, a businessman and social activist who recently announced his plan to establish a “yeshiva gevohah” (higher-level yeshiva) that will integrate college-level academic subjects.
“There is more than one way to be a Haredi who is deeply committed to religious excellence,” said Rabbi Label, and added: “Dedicating one’s life to learning Torah is a great virtue, but acquiring a profession and entering the labor market is equally legitimate.”
The consequent attacks against him from the political Haredi establishment were swift and merciless. The Lithuanian Yeded Na’am newspaper stated that he is not a legitimate person to converse with, and even denounced him as a spiritual murderer of the next gadol hador who, instead of devoting himself to Torah, would focus on general studies.
Tell that to the exceptionally long list of great Jewish scholars, starting with the sages of the Mishna, who prided themselves on having a profession, all through the generations, including numerous Haredi scholars of the past century and a half.
Berkowitz reports additional efforts to offer Haredi youth access not only to core curriculum subjects but to college-level studies in a Haredi scholarly environment. This may or may not encourage them to become part of Israeli society––as Haredi politicians fear would happen. But it would certainly help them recognize how scientific knowledge of the wonders of our universe brings humanity closer to God, as the prophet promised (Isaiah 11:9): “For the land shall be filled with knowledge of God as the water covers the sea.”
