Private member's bill · 19th Knesset · published as law 11 July 2013
חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Law on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013 · automatic translation · suggest a correction
Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית
Topics: Education* · * from the Knesset's official law classification
What the sponsors propose
The proposed amendment to the Compulsory Education Law is intended to align the date by which a person's age is determined for the purpose of entry into an educational framework with the Gregorian calendar, instead of the Hebrew calendar currently in use. According to the sponsors, this amendment will enable certainty and uniformity and will prevent the need to republish the determining date for registration in educational institutions anew each year. The sponsors further note that under the Income Tax Ordinance, a person's age is determined according to the Gregorian tax year, which affects parents' eligibility for tax credit points, and therefore a situation could arise in which parents are no longer eligible for tax credit points while their children are not yet permitted to enroll in educational institutions due to the use of the Hebrew calendar. According to the sponsors, aligning the two dates would prevent this anomaly.
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Hebrew original
התיקון המוצע לחוק לימוד חובה נועד להתאים את התאריך שעל פיו נקבע גילו של אדם לצורך כניסתו למסגרת חינוכית ללוח השנה הלועזי, במקום הלוח העברי הנהוג כיום. לדברי המציעים, תיקון זה יאפשר ודאות ואחידות וימנע את הצורך לפרסם מדי שנה מחדש את המועד הקובע לרישום למוסדות חינוך. עוד מציינים המציעים כי לפי פקודת מס הכנסה גילו של אדם נקבע לפי שנת המס הלועזית, המשפיעה על זכאות הורים לנקודות זיכוי, ולכן עלול להיווצר מצב שבו הורים אינם זכאים עוד לנקודות זיכוי בעוד ילדיהם אינם רשאים להשתלב במוסדות חינוך בשל השימוש בלוח העברי. לדברי המציעים, התאמה בין שני התאריכים תמנע אנומליה זו.
An automatic summary of the explanatory notes written by the bill's sponsors. These are their arguments, not an official Knesset summary. · The bill on the Knesset website
Sponsors
Readings
- 8 May 2013 · First reading · להעביר את הצעת החוק לוועדההצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון - גיל), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment - Age), 2013autoBill passed first reading61 for · 10 against · 2 abst.
- 10 June 2013 · First reading · להעביר את הצעת החוק לוועדההצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32) (גיל), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32) (Age), 2013autoBill passed first reading31 for · 13 against
- 8 July 2013 · Third reading · אישור החוקהצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013autoLaw passed27 for · 4 against
What was said in the plenum
The bill seeks to determine that a child's age for the purpose of registration in the education system and entry into first grade will be set according to the Gregorian date (31 December) rather than the Hebrew date (1 Tevet), in order to prevent a situation in which children born at the end of December fall between the cracks due to the gap between the tax year and the school year. The debate focused mainly on whether this is a technical-practical amendment that streamlines registration and eliminates uncertainty, or a symbolic and value-based harm to the preservation of the Hebrew calendar and Jewish identity within the state education system.
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Hebrew original
הצעת החוק מבקשת לקבוע שגילו של ילד לצורך רישום למערכת החינוך ולכניסה לכיתה א' ייקבע על-פי התאריך הלועזי (31 בדצמבר) ולא על-פי התאריך העברי (א' בטבת), כדי למנוע מצב שבו ילדים שנולדו בסוף דצמבר נופלים בין הכיסאות בשל פער בין שנת המס לשנת הלימודים. הדיון נסב בעיקר על השאלה אם מדובר בתיקון טכני-פרקטי שמייעל את הרישום ומבטל חוסר ודאות, או בפגיעה סמלית וערכית בשימור הלוח העברי והזהות היהודית במערכת החינוך הממלכתית.
Arguments for
- Currently, determining age according to 1 Tevet, a Hebrew date that shifts every year, creates uncertainty and inconsistency and leaves children born at the end of December without eligibility for registration and income tax benefits every year.Adi Koll (Yesh Atid)
- Almost all other dates in the education system (the opening of the school year, holidays) are already set today according to the Gregorian calendar, so the amendment only completes and aligns the existing arrangement and eases the burden on the Ministry of Education, which is currently required to announce anew each year who is eligible to register.Adi Koll (Yesh Atid), Amram Mitzna (Hatnua)
Arguments against
- The State of Israel is a Jewish state, and there is no room to formally enshrine in law a shift from the Hebrew date to the Gregorian date, since the use of the Hebrew calendar should be preserved and even strengthened as a unique marker and a right of existence of the Jewish people in its land.Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), Nissim Zeev (Shas), Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism), Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism)
- The proposed change will intensify the process of disconnection of the younger generation, particularly within the state education system, from the holidays, tradition, and Jewish identity, which is already eroding.Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism), Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism)
- The correct solution to the practical problem is not to abolish the Hebrew date but to educate about and strengthen awareness of it, or alternatively to set an alternative fixed and known date on the Hebrew calendar (such as the first day of Hanukkah), as was proposed in the past but not accepted.Nissim Zeev (Shas), Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism)
- The claim that the change solves a practical problem is a myth, since there is in practice no real implication for kindergarten registration or income tax eligibility, and the real problem is the public's lack of awareness of the Hebrew date, not the date itself.Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism)
Who spoke (6)
| Member | Faction | Readings | Speeches | In the final vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adi Koll | Yesh Atid coalition | First reading, Third reading | 4 | for |
| Moshe Gafni | United Torah Judaism opposition | First reading | 8 | no record |
| Nissim Zeev | Shas opposition | First reading | 3 | against |
| Uri Maklev | United Torah Judaism opposition | First reading, Third reading | 4 | against |
| Amram Mitzna | Hatnua coalition | Third reading | 1 | for |
| Yaakov Asher | United Torah Judaism opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2, 3
Reservations to the second reading
3 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.
The reservations seek to postpone the date on which the law takes effect and to establish that the kindergarten curriculum will also include the study of the Hebrew calendar.
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Hebrew original
ההסתייגויות מבקשות לדחות את מועד תחילת תחולת החוק ולקבוע כי תכנית הלימודים בגני הילדים תכלול גם לימוד של הלוח העברי.
By faction
- United Torah Judaism opposition · 3 reservations · 7 members
A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.
Who proposed what
- קבוצת יהדות התורה · 3The United Torah Judaism group seeks to postpone the date on which the law takes effect and to establish that the kindergarten curriculum will also include the study of the Hebrew calendar.Sections: לסעיף 2, לסעיף 1
Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF)
Reservations, sections and other votes (4)
In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.
- 8 July 2013 · Second reading · הסתייגותהצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013auto4 for · 21 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 8 July 2013 · Second reading · הסתייגותהצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013auto4 for · 26 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 8 July 2013 · Not a legislative reading · הצעת ועדההצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013auto27 for · 3 againstProcedural decision
- 8 July 2013 · Not a legislative reading · הצעת ועדההצעת חוק לימוד חובה (תיקון מס' 32), התשע"ג-2013Bill on Compulsory Education (Amendment No. 32), 2013auto27 for · 4 againstProcedural decision