Israel's Education Ministry has backed the planned teachers' strike that was announced on Friday and is expected to take place on Sunday morning until 11:00 a.m.
The decision to strike came after the Finance Ministry decided to impose budget cuts on teachers' salaries due to war expenses, Israeli media reported.
The strike is expected to include kindergartens, elementary schools, and junior high schools around the country, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported.
The Education Ministry said it would not issue an injunction against a planned Sunday strike, noting its support of the teachers.
"The struggle of teachers and kindergarten teachers is completely justified," Education Minister Yoav Kisch was cited as saying by Israeli media.
"It is unacceptable that teachers and kindergarten teachers, whose work is sacred, are discriminated against compared to other workers in Israel," Kisch said.
"I will do everything I can to assist them," he added.
Gantz criticizes Netanyahu's conduct on the matter
National Unity party leader, Benny Gantz, expressed his support for the teachers as well and criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct on the matter in a Friday X/Twitter post.
"Education is the most important thing in the national priorities. Kindergartens and teachers are the ones who shape the future of the State of Israel. Not only do we need to improve their employment and working conditions, we need to approach education in the State of Israel differently,' he wrote.
"Just as the prime minister convenes security situation assessments and arrives at the military headquarters when there is a fire, he should have appeared at the Finance Ministry this morning, convened an emergency meeting, and ensured that the crisis was resolved," Gantz added.
החינוך הוא הדבר החשוב ביותר בסדרי העדיפויות הלאומיים והגננות והמורים הם אלו שמעצבים את עתידה של מדינת ישראל. לא רק שצריך לשפר את תנאי ההעסקה והעבודה שלהם, צריך להתייחס אחרת לחינוך במדינת ישראל. כמו שראש הממשלה מכנס הערכות מצב ביטחוניות, ומגיע לחמ"ל כשיש שריפה, כך הוא צריך היה…
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) May 2, 2025
On Friday morning, kindergartens across he country went on a partial strike that affected select schools.
According to reports, many teachers used sick days to take off the strike day.