Event Summary
In a letter issued on 4 December, 2025, the Director General of the Education Ministry, Meir Shimoni, clarified that no group or organization that calls for or promotes refusal of military service may enter schools, as such calls contradict the goals of the State Education Law. In turn, the Education Ministry is preventing representatives of Brothers and Sisters in Arms from entering schools. The organization coalesced during the wide-spread protests against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul in early 2023, and has become a major CSO. According to Shimoni, the organization called on citizens to not report for reserve duty (temporary military service to which Israelis can be summoned by law after completing mandatory service), and publicly encouraged refusal to serve. He stated that only if the organization’s leaders express remorse for their actions will the Ministry consider allowing them to take part in civic-social dialogue activities within the education system.
By doing so, the Director General echoed earlier declarations by Education Minister, MK Yoav Kisch (Likud), who had previously stated he would prevent the organization from entering schools. In a response letter, the organization demanded that the Minister revoke the directive within 48 hours, stating that otherwise it would file a legal petition. The directive in question was not issued as an official Director General Circular of the Education Ministry, and some are questioning whether it has legal standing. The Ministry’s actions have sparked anger and opposition. Among the critics are dozens of school principals who described the decision as a sign of the moral bankruptcy of the education system and called on the Director General to reverse it.
The step taken by the Education Ministry is another expression of the narrowing of freedom of expression and action for CSOs in Israel.