# Streams Method in Israeli education

The Streams Method in Israeli education refers to the ideological and party-based division of education in Israel. This method was practiced in the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel and later among the Jewish public in the State of Israel from the 1920s until the enactment of the State Education Law on August 12, 1953. There were three main educational streams: the Labor, General, and Mizrahi (Oriental) streams, in addition to one recognized as official after the establishment of the state, the Agudat Israel stream. Additionally, Talmud Torah schools and Kol Israel Chaverim institutions remained non-partisan.

## History

Party-based education emerged in the 1920s, during the British Mandate period. The Jewish settlers in the Land of Israel were interested in implementing education that would transmit ideals and provide a general education to the next generation. Since the British Mandate authorities did not establish a mandatory education system, and before a sovereign state could exercise educational control, the political parties operated their own educational systems.
During this period, the parties took on many roles that in a normal state would be the responsibility of state systems or non-partisan voluntary organizations. For example, the parties established sports organizations (Hapoel of the Labor movement, Elitzur for the religious, Beitar for the Revisionists, and so on) and security forces (the Haganah for the Labor movement, and the Irgun and Lehi for the right-wing streams).

## Streams

The streams differed from each other in various principles, mainly regarding religion and socialism. Each stream was responsible for training its teachers and setting its curriculum and pedagogical principles.

### General Stream

As of 1948, the General Stream educated 50.2% of Jewish students. It was ideologically aligned with the General Zionists, offering a general curriculum.
The General Stream advocated for national-traditional education based on "the spiritual possessions common to all segments of the people" while integrating scientific achievements. The leaders of the stream aimed it at the entire population, hoping that the benches of the general school would be occupied by both religious and secular students from all ethnic groups. The curriculum was based on the belief that it is necessary to create a unified society and that education should be "general" in nature and not partisan. Based on this stream, the state school was later established, following the enactment of the State Education Law.

### Labor Stream

Established in 1923, the Labor Stream included schools associated with the General Federation of Labor.
It was the second-largest stream, educating 27.8% of the Jews by 1948. It was ideologically identified with the Labor movement and the General Federation of Workers, politically associated with Mapai and Mapam.
The Labor Stream advocated for socialist-worker education by "forming a Jewish-chalutz (pioneer)-independent personality, imbued with a Zionist-socialist vision, ready to realize in body and soul the mission of the Hebrew socialist labor movement in the country." The schools of the Labor stream aimed to direct their students towards "realization" — pioneering settlement in kibbutzim based on pure socialism. They also aimed to guide students towards activity in the socialist youth movements.
In the educational institutions of the Labor stream, two flags were flown: the flag of Israel alongside the red flag symbolizing the socialist ideology. They sang "Tehazakna" and the Internationale alongside Hatikvah. May Day was celebrated as a day of rest, holding significance comparable to that of traditional holidays.
A religious sub-stream, known as the religious Labor stream or the religious Peshat, was associated with this stream.

### Mizrachi Stream

The concept of a religious-national educational stream was raised with the founding of the Mizrachi movement by Rabbi Yaakov Reines in Vilna. In 1905, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon travelled to the Land of Israel to promote the initiative. The beginning of education in this spirit is the Talmud Torah "Achva" in Jaffa, which became "Tachkemoni."
This was the third largest stream, educating 22.5% of the Jews by 1948. It was ideologically identified with the religious Zionist parties, the Mizrachi movement, and the Hapoel HaMizrachi. With the recognition of the Agudat Israel stream, the establishment of the religious Labor stream, processes of secularization, and the application of uniform education to immigrants, the percentage of students studying in the institutions of this stream decreased.
The Mizrachi stream advocated for Orthodox religious education combined with Zionism and modernism. Its goal was to impart national-religious education. The schools of the Mizrachi taught secular subjects: sciences, humanities, and languages. In the Mizrachi stream, most religious students and many from the Eastern communities were educated. Some religious parents chose to send their children to schools of the General stream due to their identification with the non-partisan message.
The schools of the Mizrachi stream were called "Tachkemoni". Rabbi Kook wrote about the first school bearing this name in 1908 to the members of Mizrachi in Europe:
   "In the holy city of Jaffa, there is already a school, whose purpose matches their honorable desire, and it is the 'Tachkemoni' school, which combines Torah and wisdom, and the dominance of the Hebrew language as the language of instruction, founded entirely according to the peaceful wishes of the faith of Israel, in a manner that all who fear God and heed His word can find their desire, and all can enter under the name of 'Mizrachi' school."

### Agudat Israel Stream

The Agudat Israel stream received official recognition in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel, unlike other streams that existed earlier. This recognition was led by Agudat Israel's president, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin. This stream was the fourth largest and was identified with the non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox parties, Agudat Israel and Poalei Agudat Israel.
The initial recognition came in the form of the Status Quo letter sent by David Ben-Gurion and Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishman Maimon in the summer of 1947. The approach to Agudat Israel, which until then had been an anti-Zionist party, was intended to enlist its help in persuading the UN Special Committee to recommend the establishment of a Jewish state. In the letter, Ben-Gurion promised, among other things, full recognition of the educational stream's autonomy attached to the movement, except for minimal educational requirements in language, sciences, and history. The decision to recognize the non-Zionist stream of Agudat Israel stemmed from three main factors:
* The Jewish settlement, loyal to the principles of associative democracy, sought to create as broad a coalition as possible in anticipation of the impending statehood. It saw such a coalition as necessary to apply the state's sovereignty to all parts of the public. Thus, the government hoped to integrate the ultra-Orthodox public into the future state and turn its members into loyal citizens. There was also hope that Agudat Israel would leverage its extensive connections with world Jewry and mobilize it in support of the young state.
* Among the Zionist parties, there was a belief that after the establishment of the state, Agudat Israel would fully adopt a Zionist ideology, and the anti-Zionist characteristics would disappear.
* Among the secular Jewish public, there was a belief that the winds of modernism would quickly eradicate ultra-Orthodoxy. Agudat Israel, for its part, justified the profound ideological change with pragmatic-rational arguments — state support would channel budgets that would save the movement's education, which was in financial distress. Not all ultra-Orthodox streams agreed with Agudat Israel's position, and some remained anti-Zionist, such as the Edah HaChareidis and Neturei Karta.
Over the following years, the Agudat Israel education stream grew significantly, especially due to the particularly high birth rate in the ultra-Orthodox sector and also supported by the wave of returnees to faith, some of whom joined the ultra-Orthodox community.

## Abolition of the Streams and the Introduction of State Education

After the establishment of the State of Israel, the responsibility for education shifted from the National Council to the provisional government. In 1949, a Compulsory Education Law was enacted, requiring every child from age 5 to 13 to study in an official educational institution from one of the four streams. At this stage, the parties had not yet agreed on establishing a unified school for all children of Israel. The supporters of this were Mapai alongside the right-wing parties and the General Zionists, while the opponents were the religious and ultra-Orthodox parties, fearing the secular nature of the unified school, and on the other side, the left-wing parties, fearing damage to labor values. Since the Compulsory Education Law did not apply to children of immigrant camps, the Jewish Agency established a network for uniform education, leading to criticism of anti-religious coercion from Yemenite immigrants and the appointment of the Fromkin Committee. The crisis created by the debates over the religious parties' authority over education led to Ben-Gurion's resignation as Prime Minister and the fall of the second government of Israel.
On August 12, 1953, the State Education Law formalized the unification of the General and Labor streams. The Mizrachi stream was institutionalized and became the state religious education. The Agudat Israel stream remained autonomous due to the Status Quo agreement and was recognized as the independent education of the ultra-Orthodox public. However, in recent years, there has been a call among the ultra-Orthodox public for the establishment of state-religious education.