Israeli Education Minister Yoav Kisch said on Monday that the issue of laying tefillin in schools has been regulated for the first time, so that every pupil who wishes to lay tefillin can do so.
Tefillin, a pair of small, black leather boxes containing parchment scrolls, are traditionally worn by Jewish men during weekday morning prayers.
“The lack of regulation that accompanied the system for years created frictions and uncertainty that harmed students, parents and education staff,” Kisch wrote on X.
“The laying of tefillin in the State of the Jews is not a subject for controversy; it is part of our Jewish identity,” he continued.
The minister noted that a directive issued by the ministry’s Director General Meir Shimoni now provides principals with clear guidelines, and ensures that every student can voluntarily pray and lay tefillin “in a respectful, regulated and natural manner.”
