Jewish education is crucial to instilling a sense of Jewish identity, communal cohesion, and, of course, the transmission of knowledge and skills to the next generation. However, surprisingly little empirical data is available on Jewish day schools worldwide. Although data is readily available in Israel, in other countries information gathering has been sporadic at best.

This chapter summarizes some of the main trends in Jewish schools around the world by giving an overall sense of the number of Jewish schools and the population of children who attend them, tracing trends in enrollment over time. It also examines Jewish education in light of the October 7 attacks and the ensuing Israel-Hamas War. The spike in antisemitism experienced by Jewish communities has led many to voice concerns over the prejudice their children might face should they choose to attend non-Jewish schools. School choice decisions are discussed in the light of these events. Finally, attention is paid to school’s attitudes vis-à-vis Israel as expressed through their social media. It seems that in an increasing number of schools, Israel has become such a bone of contention, that they prefer not to talk about the war at all.

Jewish Schools Around the World

There are approximately 2,000 Jewish schools in 45 countries worldwide in addition to around 5,000 Jewish schools in Israel.¹ Unsurprisingly, there are more Jewish day schools in Israel than in the rest of the world combined. A total of 1.5 million Israeli students attend Jewish schools.² A small minority of those students are not Jewish, but virtually all Jewish children attend Jewish schools in Israel. While there may be some debate as to whether the term Jewish school should be applied to secular schools in Israel, it could be argued that a school that teaches Hebrew language and literature, Bible, and marks Jewish holy days qualifies as a Jewish school.

Outside Israel, Jewish schools are defined in this chapter as those that characterize themselves as Jewish, irrespective of the proportion of non-Jews in attendance and the kind of religious instruction and ethos. Jewish schools run the gamut of Judaism itself, from ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) schools that teach only Judaic studies to secular schools that emphasize Jewish history and culture, and even Bundist schools that focus on Yiddish language and literature. Supplementary schools are not included in this analysis.

Jewish day schools exist in a large number of countries across six continents. In two-thirds of those countries there is more than one Jewish school, offering parents a choice of which Jewish school they prefer for their children. Jewish schools are found in Muslim majority nations such as Azerbaijan, Morocco, and Turkey; Christian majority countries such as the United States, Argentina, and France; and majority no religion countries such as China, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. Jewish schools operating in such varied environments face very different challenges .

Over the last three decades there has been a significant increase in both the number of Jewish schools and the number of Jewish children attending them. In post-communist states in Central and Eastern Europe, new schools have been established and are flourishing. Communal resources have been poured into education, yet in many countries the lion’s share of the increased enrollment is due to the natural growth of the Haredi community.

The United States, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, has by far the largest number of schools, with approximately 300,000 students enrolled in around 1,200 Jewish day schools. Large concentrations of Jewish day schools are also found in England, France and Canada, the next largest Diaspora communities. However, when it comes to the percentage of Jewish children enrolled in Jewish day schools, the picture looks very different. Excluding territories such as Gibraltar, where almost all Jews attend the local Jewish school, the highest rates of enrollment are found in Belgium and Mexico. The former has a large Haredi population, virtually all of whom attend Jewish schools, and the latter has a traditional religious orientation and a history of high rates of Jewish school attendance. Enrollment rates are generally higher in Latin America and South Africa, where traditional Judaism is widespread and the UK where Jewish schools can opt to be part of the state system.³

Despite the large U.S. Jewish population, day school enrollment rates there are among the lowest in the world, at around 25 percent.⁴ This is due to a combination of the low proportion of Orthodox Jews (who are much more likely to attend Jewish schools) and the prohibitive cost of Jewish education. Due to the separation of church and state, Jewish schools must be private, hence attempts at somewhat circumventing this issue by establishing Hebrew language charter schools. The high cost of Jewish education is partly attributable to the concentration of Jewish communities in areas where educational costs are particularly high. Even in the public sector, annual per pupil spending reaches $29,873 in New York and $25,099 in New Jersey.⁵

Children who attend Jewish day schools outside Israel can be divided into three main subcategories: Hasidic (including Haredi children who affiliate as Chabad/Lubavitch), Haredi Litvish (non-Hasidic), and the rest. The graph below presents the proportions of each of these groups in the five English speaking countries with large Jewish populations.

In the United States and Britain, the countries outside Israel with the largest Jewish day school populations, totaling approximately 300,000 and 40,000 respectively, the majority of students who attend Jewish schools are Haredi. Within the ultra-Orthodox population, there are more Hasidic than Litvish students, as indeed there are in every country shown here apart from South Africa, where most Jews hail from Lithuania and the only Hasidic schools are Chabad.

The Haredi majority in Jewish schools in the U.S. and Britain is consistent with historical data attesting to the rapid increase in the number of Haredi school students.⁶ This is almost entirely a function of high fertility rates and close to full enrolment rates within the Haredi community. In the U.S., the narrowest possible definition of Haredi was used, excluding those who attend what are termed “Centrist” schools. These schools are segregated by gender, tend not to be Zionist and have much in common with Haredi schools in terms of their approach. Were Centrist schools included in the Litvish category (which in American would more likely be termed Yeshivish), then all three groups – Hasidic, Litvish, and other – would be the same size.

In the U.S., the overrepresentation of Haredim among the day school population stands in marked contrast to the relatively small proportion of American Jews who identify as Haredi. This is because such a low proportion of non-Orthodox American attend Jewish schools. This stands in stark contrast to the patterns found in South Africa and Australia. Although South Africa and Australia have sizable Haredi populations, the majority of pupils enrolled in Jewish schools are Modern Orthodox, traditional or secular, simply because of the high enrollment rates across different strands of the community.

Enrollment Trends Since October 7

The effects of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel have reverberated around the world. The number of antisemitic incidents has skyrocketed, with an increase of 360 percent in the number of reported  antisemitic incidents in the U.S., and a 589 percent increase in the UK in the three months following October 7.⁷ Jewish schools have been particularly affected, notably attacks on schools in Montreal⁸, school closures and changes in uniform policy at schools from Melbourne to London for fear of students being identifiable as Jews and potentially targeted when wearing Jewish symbols.⁹

One of the more positive outcomes of this might be an increase in enrollment at Jewish day schools. Aside from the increase in the number of students enrolled in Jewish day schools due to an influx of Israelis, most often dual nationals or those with family ties abroad, there is also evidence to suggest that the increase in antisemitism is driving up enrollment in Jewish schools. Data from the Prizma survey of 110 Jewish schools in North America indicates that there has been an increase in interest in Jewish schools since October 7. Around 40 percent of schools surveyed reported parental interest in transferring children from public to Jewish schools mid-year with a fifth saying the same about transfers from private schools.¹⁰

Data from recent JPPI Voice of the Jewish People surveys of affiliated Jews in the United States similarly show that the effects of the conflict in Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitism are driving up demand for Jewish education abroad. The majority of respondents said they would be more likely to send their children to Jewish schools, fewer than one-in-ten said they would be less likely to do so, and a third reported that the war had no impact on the likelihood of them choosing a Jewish school for their children.

The actual impact of antisemitism on school choice, whatever people might tell pollsters about their intentions, is a bit complicated. On one hand, many parents are concerned that their children will encounter antisemitism in educational environments where they are minority groups, be it from the administration, staff, or fellow students. Certainly, there have been numerous reports of children feeling unsafe in mainstream schools as some students have rallied for Palestine or targeted Jewish students in the wake of the current conflict.^{11, 12}  However, for a minority of parents, concerns about antisemitism are centered around the issue of whether Jewish schools represent a potential target for antisemitic attacks. The 2012 terrorist assault on the Ozar HaTorah school in Toulouse, in which a teacher and three children were killed, is a case in point.¹³

Data from a European Union Fundamental Rights Agency survey of Jews in 12 European countries indicate that for most parents, concerns about antisemitism increase the likelihood of them sending their children to a Jewish school. However, for a minority, such concerns lead them to take the opposite approach and opt for non-Jewish schools. While most parents are concerned with everyday antisemitism their children might encounter as a member of a Jewish minority in school, a small number are concerned that attending a Jewish school imperils their children, as Jewish schools are perceived as potential sites of violence or as rendering their child conspicuously Jewish outside school. For some Jews, the response to antisemitism is to lower their profile, and take measures to enable their children to pass unnoticed in schools with a majority non-Jewish population.

An important difference between the United States and Europe must be made. Antisemitism is much more common in Europe, so it is no surprise to find that the EU FRA data indicate that for over a fifth of parents, antisemitism is an important consideration in deciding whether or not to send their children to a Jewish school. However, in the U.S., with its relatively lower levels of antisemitism, Voice of the Jewish People survey data indicate that only around one-in-twenty parents cite antisemitism as a factor in their decisions regarding whether to opt for a Jewish school for their children.

Schools’ Reactions to the Current Conflict

Schools have met with a variety of   challenges since October 7. In some areas, there has been an influx of Israelis seeking respite from the war. The fact that these families tend to join the schools temporarily is something of a challenge for schools, as they have to accommodate more pupils under uncertain conditions. Schools have also felt the impact of events in Israel, and many have felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at the suffering of Israelis at the hands of Hamas and an increased sense of solidarity with Jews in Israel. Initiatives have been launched, prayer sessions organized, and money raised to help Israel in its time of need.

Examining the social media accounts of schools reveals one aspect of all this activity. A small sample of Jewish schools worldwide – in Australia, Canada, and South Africa – (a total of 118 schools) that had active public Facebook accounts (52 schools, representing 44 percent of all Jewish schools in these countries) were analyzed. In the vast majority of cases, Facebook posts immediately following October 7 expressed sympathy and solidarity with Israel. As time went on, posts with content that focused explicitly on events in Israel declined in frequency as school life returned to normal although Israel and the current war, remained prominent topics on Facebook writ large.

However, there was a clear difference between different schools in terms of their attitudes toward Israel. Of course, when looking at Facebook accounts, it must be noted that Haredi schools, which tend to be supportive of Israel, although not in principle Zionist, rarely have a social media presence. Beyond that, there was a link between the proportion of non-Jewish students who attend the school and the response of the school, as expressed in their Facebook posts, to the situation in Israel. Just under a tenth of the schools in this sample have students enrolled who do not identify as Jewish in any way. Most often, this situation arises in communities with declining populations who seek a way to maintain a Jewish school despite falling demand.

There was a clear correlation between schools attended by non-Jews as well as Jews and the likelihood of posting about Israel and the current conflict on social media. Jewish Schools with large non-Jewish populations (over 10%) either did not post about the war or posted only once. By contrast, Jewish schools with an overwhelming majority of Jewish pupils tended to refer to the war much more often. Interestingly, although Jewish schools with significant non-Jewish populations were more likely to send celebratory messages on the festivals associated with other religions, such as Merry Christmas and Ramadan Kareem, their social media did include posts on Jewish content. For example, Tu Bishvat (Arbor Day) activities and mock Passover Seders held at school did feature in their social media posts, although Israel was omitted. It is not the case that the schools with large non-Jewish populations have ceased to have any Jewish identifying features; they continue to celebrate Jewish events, even in cases where Jews constitute a minority of the student body, but Israel is absent from their social media.

South African and Australian schools were more likely to mention Israel and the conflict in their social media posts than those in Canada. In Canadian schools that embrace diversity or have a pluralist outlook, comments about Israel were about as common as in schools elsewhere with a significant non-Jewish population. This likely stems from the higher levels of Zionism found in communities in South Africa, Australia, and Latin American, relative to those in the northern hemisphere. It is probably also a function of communal disagreement over Israel. Schools with a more diverse parent population, even when the schools’ students share the same religion, seem to be avoiding the potentially explosive topic of Israel. Although one might have thought that the current conflict, or at least the immediate aftermath of October 7 would have provided a moment of consensus, it seems that schools did not all feel that way. For schools with a pluralist approach or diverse Jewish student body, Israel appears to be too controversial a topic to handle.

It is unclear whether pluralist schools are on the rise. But schools with a significant non-Jewish minority do seem to be increasingly common. This is partly due to a general move toward multiculturalism and partly due to demographic changes that lead to declining demand for non-Haredi Jewish education in the Diaspora. Israel is currently a contentious issue within the Jewish community, but the complexity of talking about Israel in schools in which Jews represent a declining proportion of pupils is exponentially greater. It is therefore likely that Israel will simply be ignored in the growing number of schools with significant non-Jewish populations, not to mention that in these schools the majority of staff are generally not Jewish. This means that Jewish schools, particularly Jewish schools that cater to a population that is not religious, (those schools in which there are religiously mixed student bodies) may no longer promote a sense of connection or even solidarity with Israel, even in its darkest moments.

Recommendations

• Efforts should be made to raise school enrollment rates, particularly among Jews who are not religious.
• In locations where Jewish school enrollment is in decline, schools should be encouraged to pool resources and perhaps merge, to reduce costs.
• The unfortunate increase of antisemitic incidents in the last year might boost enrollment, and schools should be flexible in accommodating students from non-Jewish schools, who may be lacking Judaic studies skills.

Additional recommendations beyond the scope of this article:

• Antisemitism may have a greater impact on enrollment patterns in institutions of higher education (universities and colleges), where such prejudice is more prevalent. Jewish colleges should increase their capacity to admit more students.
• Israeli universities and colleges should invest in exchange and foreign language programs to attract Jewish students from around the world who are concerned about antisemitism on campus.
• The State of Israel should consider how it can best support Jewish education in the Diaspora. Efforts should be made to recruit emissaries to work in schools abroad, as the war has led to both a decrease in supply, with young Israelis feeling less able to leave the country, and an increase in demand, with schools seeking staff who can teach about Israel.
  The State of Israel should also consider allocating budgets to subsidize Jewish education in communities in need. With a relatively small sum, the government can unite philanthropists and bring significant resources to bear on Jewish education in the Diaspora.

Endnotes

1. This is a minimum estimate, it is almost certain that, despite our best efforts, there are some schools omitted from this analysis
2. Central Bureau of Statistics https://tinyurl.com/557vw5zc
3. We thank Professor Sergio DellaPergola for sharing demographic data on various Jewish populations that have facilitated the calculations of the percentage of Jewish children who are enrolled in Jewish schools in each country.
4. Data on the USA and Israel are from 2022, elsewhere the data are from the year 2023
5. E. J. MacMahon 2024 https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/ny-per-pupil-school-spending-led-all-us-by-record-margin-in-2021-22/
6. Avi Chai Foundation and JPR Reports
7. U.S. antisemitic incidents skyrocketed360% in aftermath of attack in Israel, according to latest ADL data, 01.09.2024, Anti-Defamation League, https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/us-antisemitic-incidents-skyrocketed-360-aftermath-attack-israel-according; Huge rise in antisemitic abuse in UK since Hamas attack, says charity, 15.02.2024, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2024/feb/15/huge-rise-in-antisemitic-abuse-in-uk-since-hamas-attack-says-charity
8. Police investigating shots fired overnight at 2 Jewish schools in Montreal, 09.11.2023, CBC News,
   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/jewish-schools-doors-shot-1.7023759
9. I’m terrified”: Jewish parents’ fears as school warns children not to wear identifying badges, 12.10.2023, The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/parents-jewish-schools-security-hamas-b2428383.html; Jewish students too scared to wear school uniform, The Australian, https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fjewish-students-in-lockdown-mode-as-government-calls-for-compassion%2Fnews-story%2Fd151eb3f6cef07e230fd3c1b147ff922&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=GROUPA-Segment-2-NOSCORE&V21spcbehaviour=append
10. Enrollment trend report: The impact of the Israel-Hamas war on Jewish day schools in North America, 2024, Prizma, https://prizmah.org/knowledge/resource/enrollment-trend-report-impact-israel-hamas-war-jewish-day-schools-north-america
11. Jewish public school families demand change to fight rise in hate, 2024, CBC News, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-school-board-ocdsb-jewish-hate-parent-student-1.7217848; Public schools struggle to say the right thing about the Israel-Hamas war, 2023, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/nyregion/public-schools-israel-war-hamas-gaza.html; US investigating Chicago public schools after students’ anti-Israel walkout, 2024, Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-investigating-chicago-public-schools-after-students-anti-israel-walkout/
12. France shooting: Toulouse Jewish school attack kills four, 2012, BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-17426313
13. Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism: Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU, 2018, European Union Fundamental Rights Agency, https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2018/experiences-and-perceptions-antisemitism-second-survey-discrimination-and-hate