Israel’s haredi school system is growing by leaps and bounds, as evidenced by a new report released by the Ministry of Education.
While only about 10% of Israeli Jewish adults identify with the haredi religious stream, the haredi school system now accounts for a full 25% of all Jewish students in Israel.
Even more impressive is the rate of growth in haredi schools over the past decade and a half.
From 2000 to 2015, the total haredi school population increased by a whopping 89%, far beyond the increases seen in either of the two other Jewish school systems.
In the year 2000, roughly 17% of Jewish students were enrolled in the haredi system, as opposed to just under 19% in the national religious system and 64% in the secular state school system.
Over the next 15 years, the haredi system added some 190,000 students, becoming the second largest system with 25% of Jewish students.
The national religious state school system added 64,000 students, an increase of 27%, and remained stable at just under 19%. The secular state school system grew by only 11%, adding 97,000 students and slipping from 64% of the Jewish population in 2000 to just 56% in 2015.
If these trends continue, by the year 2030 the secular state system will represent a minority of Jewish students, with only 46% of the population. Haredi students will make up more than a third of the Jewish school-age population, with roughly 36%. The national religious system will fall slightly to 18% of all Jewish students.