The Blogs: What if the next government decided to dismantle secular autonomy? | Eli Paley

A thought experiment on The Times of Israel's blog imagines a religious-majority Israeli government dismantling secular educational autonomy, drawing parallels to current debates about reducing Haredi institutional autonomy and questioning the limits of state authority over communal values.

A thought experiment on The Times of Israel's blog platform imagines a new Israeli government with an overwhelming religious majority deciding to dismantle secular educational autonomy. The hypothetical education minister argues that secular education's fertility rate of 1.85 children per woman is below replacement level, and that only 42% of secular male graduates serve in combat roles compared to 60% from religious state education. He proposes making full public funding conditional on a curriculum based on religious-Zionist principles integrating Torah study, combat service, and settlement values. The author then draws a parallel to current policy debates about reducing Haredi institutional autonomy, citing Israel Democracy Institute proposals to dismantle Haredi economic-political hegemony. The piece argues that while the state can set conditions for funding, it should not engage in cultural engineering, and questions whether those who support intervening in Haredi education would accept similar intervention in secular education by a religious government.