For instance, most Israelis agree that the Bible and Jewish history are an integral part of the curriculum, but the details of teaching them are a cause for controversy. One of the most difficult problems is the sense of ethnic division. Some feel the system is prejudiced against Sephardic Jews who have immigrated from the Middle East and North Africa. Their dropout rate is higher than in Hebrew schools and fewer Arab students go on to higher education. One of the reasons is that Arab schools receive less funding than Jewish schools, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.
Classrooms are more crowded and hours of instruction fewer.
The new Minister of Education, Yossi Sarid, has promised reforms in Israel's educational system, particularly in the Arab schools. You don't have to work with all the text at once. Focus on a small portion of the text - however you feel comfortable. It's a good way to get an idea of what the text is about. Numbers are a handy thing to know in any language.