The Israeli Ambassador H.E. David Matnai being welcomed to the campus by V.P. Academic Dr. Bancha Saenghiran and Dr. Chavalit on June 7, 2000

The Israeli Ambassador being greeted by the Rector Dr. P. Marin Komolmas and Vice Rectors in the V.I.P. Room.

The Israeli Ambassador accepts a token of appreciation from Vice Rector Bro, Annupat at the end of the lecture on June 7.

Religious Education in Israel..

The Israeli Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand H.E. David Matnai visited our campus on June 7, 2000 to deliver a lecture on the "Management of Education in Israel" from 10.00 to 12.00 hrs. We reproduce a summary of the lecture prepares by Dr. Steven Mandelker of the Graduate School of Philosophy and Religious Studies for the benefit of our readers.

A. Judaism and the nation of Israel.

Judaism is not only a religion, but also a movement with a sense of national identify. Annually, Jews recite the prayer, "Next year in Jerusalem!" Israel, the focus of Jewish national aspiration, is over 80% Jewish. As early as the Fifth century B.C., Jews constituted a nation on territory that overlaps that of today's Israel.

Judaism, as a religion, is very ancient. Modern Israel has existed for only 52 years, but the Jewish calendar lists the year 2000 as the year 5760. It is difficult to explain the doctrines of Judaism as a whole because over the centuries, there have been numerous interpretations of the Torah, which is the first five books of the Bible and the original scripture of Judaism.

Judaism has a number of distinctive characteristics. Circumcision is required of all males eight days after they are born. Dietary laws are quite restrictive. Pork and shellfish are forbidden. There must be a six-hour gap between the eating of meat and the eating of dairy products. Separate utensils must be used for eating and cooking meat and dairy items. The Sabbath day, "Shabbat," is kept holy. No work may be performed, and many other restrictions bring the most ordinary of daily activities to a halt on Sabath.

B. Israel policy toward religious minorities.

Israel grants autonomy to each religion represented in Israel, including Islam, Christianity, and the Bahai faith. Thus, matters pertaining to birth, death, marriage, education, and inheritance are in the hands of the various religious communities within Israel. An exception is the case of polygamy. A Moslem argued that because his religious permitted him to have more than one wife. Israeli law should allow him to marry a second wife. However, the Israeli High Court decided that because Islam merely permitted, but did not require, a man to have more than one wife, Israel was not required by its policy of religious autonomy to allow the Moslem to marry a second wife.

C. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Religious Education

Israel requires all children to attend school for at least ten years. They may be registered either to a government school or to a religious school. The curriculum of a religious school is at the discretion of the school. Religious schools are financed by the government. In fact, the students who attend the schools during adulthood, and their families, are also supported by the government.

Inspection of the budget devoted to the religious schools is a serious and deeply divisive issue in Israel. Despite evidence that on occasion, money given to religious schools has been misused, the schools in question vehemently reject proposals by the government to inspect the budgets of the schools.

Religious schools manage to circumvent government regulations requiring no more than 35% of the curriculum to be devoted to religious topics by treating the Bible as non-religious history and literature, thus counting Bible studies as within the 65% secular studies portion of the curriculum. Religious schools, in practice, do whatever they like with their curriculum as well as their budget, and Judaism is the only subject taught to boys. Girls, who are kept strictly segregated from boys-and in fact are educated in different building – are taught very little other than cooking, child-rearing, and other home-making skills.

Religious education focuses on Biblical commentaries, rather than the Bible itself. The reason for this is that the Bible is considered to be like the flame of a fire. One must be extremely careful when touching it. It is too holy to meddle with. The Bible is written in Hebrew, a sacred language. It is the language used in prayer. Conversation among scholars has, historically, been carried out in other languages, especially Yiddish, and the various Biblical commentaries that are studied, such as the Talmud and the Mishnah, are written in languages other than Hebrew, such as Aramaic. Graduates of these schools are exempted from military service. However, many graduates volunteer for service in the military, and after their service, go into non-religious careers. Computer science is a popular career choice for many of those who leave the schools.

The schools offer a lifetime of study to students; one may, if one chooses, spend one's entire life studying Jewish law in such a school. The general sentiment in Israel appears to be that the support given to such schools, and to their students directory, is a means of preserving the spiritual values of Israel, which are not necessarily preserved by some of the secular schools.

D. Israel law and the educational system.

Israel lacks a constitution. Religious Jews objected to the drafting of a constitution initially because they thought that the Torah was the constitution of Israel. However, modern Israeli law does not adhere to the Torah. For example, Israel does not punish a man who blinds another by blinding the criminal. Yet there is a substitute for a constitution in the sense that there is a core of laws, know as "basic laws," which cannot be changed without a two-thirds majority or, in some cases, a vote in fovor by at least 61 members of Israel's parliament, the Knesset. Educational laws are among those included in the basic laws. Other such laws include those pertaining to human rights, the manner of selecting members of the Knesset, and the constitution of the armed forces.

Israeli decisions on educational matters are generally made in the form of informal agreements among the various parties, rather than laws. The passing of laws in this area tends to generate irresolvable controversy that can be avoided through the negotiation of informal agreements.