Erez Threatens to Block 2026-27 School Year Over Wartime Pay Deductions

Ran Erez, chairman of the Secondary School Teachers Organization, said Tuesday the union will not allow the 2026-27 school year to open in September unless the Education Ministry changes course during summer break. Erez cited an ongoing dispute over Finance Ministry salary deductions imposed on teachers whose June 8 lessons were canceled by Iranian missile fire, arguing that instructors worked remotely by Zoom during Operation Roaring Lion and should still be paid. He also faulted the ministry for cutting thousands of teaching hours, unresolved shortages in physics, mathematics and English, and a lack of consultation with Education Minister Yoav Kisch since he took office. Kisch's ministry attributed the deduction to the Finance Ministry, said it contradicts the education minister's own position, and criticized Erez for demanding same-day remote-learning shifts on only a few hours' notice.