Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Primary and secondary school education have been in somewhat of a crisis because of the
low wages that teachers earn and their diffi cult working conditions. In 2007, the teachers'
union held a long strike to protest their working conditions. Teachers are underpaid, but their
union has also at times blocked educational reforms intended to improve the educational
system. The problems include a classroom shortage, particularly but not exclusively in Arab
schools, and an insuffi cient number of teachers, which leads to large and potentially unruly
classes.
The general informality and aggressiveness of Israeli society extends to the classroom,
where teachers sometimes have trouble controlling students. Low-level violence among stu-
dents has also become an important concern in some schools. At the same time, though, there
is a special emphasis on teaching students to get along well in social terms. An aspect of this
effort is that elementary school classes are kept together over several years.
Many parents are concerned that standards have declined in recent years and that Israel has
not done as well as it should compared to other countries in providing education. Test results
have shown Israeli schools to be lagging behind in academic instruction.
Israel's universities maintain high standards and include several semipublic institutions:
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, the Technion (a science and engineer-
ing institute), Ben Gurion University, Bar-Ilan University (a Dati institution), the University
of Haifa, and the Open University (which engages in much adult education). The Weizmann
Institute in Rehovot, a world-class research center for science, also grants graduate degrees.
Many colleges providing bachelor's degrees have sprung up around the country, usually as
branches of universities. College tuition is kept low compared to the rate in other countries.
The Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya is the country's fi rst private institution of
higher education. Founded by faculty dissatisfi ed with other institutions who wanted to follow
more innovative methods, it specializes in law, communications, high technology, interna-
tional affairs, and business.
A large number of specialized research centers have developed, often affi liated with univer-
sities, focusing on wide-ranging topics from agriculture to religious studies to international
affairs. Israel has become a leading country in Middle East studies and counterterrorism stud-
ies. The quality of the faculty is generally high.
Still, the university system has faced problems. Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities have had
major budgetary defi cits due to overexpansion and the general international economic down-
turn, since donations from foreign Jews are important elements in university budgets. Stu-
dents strike periodically to protest rising tuition, and professors strike to protest low wages.
Compromises end immediate confl icts, but the issues remain unresolved.
THE HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM AND NATIONAL INSURANCE
Israel has a universal health-care system, which means that by law every citizen is entitled to
medical treatment. The Ministry of Health oversees health services and owns and operates
many of the country's larger hospitals. Health care represents nearly 10 percent of Israel's GDP.
Health care is administered through four “sick funds,” which are health maintenance or-
ganizations (HMOs). The largest historically, Kupat Holim Clalit, is run by the Histadrut,
 
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