Jerusalem – Israel’s Education Ministry says it has reached a settlement to end a nearly monthlong strike by the nation’s Christian schools.
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The Christian schools have been on strike since the school year began on Sept. 1 to protest cuts in government funding. Christian leaders have said the cuts amounted to discrimination.
Under Sunday’s settlement, the Education Ministry said it would cancel the budget cuts and allocate a one-time payment of roughly $12.5 million to the Christian community in Israel. In addition, the ministry and Christian schools agreed to form a committee to resolve any remaining areas of disagreement by next March.
Christians make up about 2 percent of Israel’s population. Some 33,000 students in 47 schools had been on strike. They are to return to school on Monday.
While restoring the cuts make sense, it should have tied it to halting the anti-Israel propaganda coming out of the christian community.