Six years ago this month, Israel confronted its first nationwide school closure since the Gulf War. Since 2020, Israeli children have lost at least half a school year. Counting only days when schools were physically closed nationwide, the minimum number of missed school days comes to 105 (out of a typical 214-day school year). That figure breaks down as 81 days across COVID’s three lockdowns, and 24 days of war-related closures: 7 days following October 7, 10 days during the June 2025 conflict with Iran, and 6 days and counting in the current escalation. This estimate excludes the months of security closures in the north and south, the nearly seven weeks after October 7 during which even schools in the center were not fully operational, and differential closures during COVID including hybrid learning, quarantines and traffic light-based closures. Factor those in, and the real number approaches a full school year.

Our children’s safety is the highest priority, and I would never advocate reopening schools before it is safe to do so. But we need to honestly reckon with the cumulative cost of these closures. Economic disruption is routinely factored into security decisions, yet the impact on our children, our most important long-term asset, rarely is. Our children are missing months of learning they will not get back. It would be comforting to treat this closure as the last, and therefore not worth planning around. But the data shows these are not outliers. They are a recurring feature of the reality we live in, and we need to start planning accordingly.

The Ministry of Education has focused, understandably, on guidelines for operating during crisis situations. That is necessary, but it is not enough. The missed days are accumulating, and remote learning is not a substitute for full days of in-person school. We currently have no plan for giving that time back. The 105 days already lost cannot be recovered. But starting now, we can do better.

I propose a new principle: for any nationwide school closures, half the missed school days should be added to the end of the school year. This acknowledges the reality that children need to make up the lost time in the classroom, while not penalizing teachers because war is not a vacation, and they should not be asked to give back days they did not take. The additional days should be compensated at their regular rate, a cost the state should bear just as it does for other costs of war. This compromise benefits everyone. Teachers are fairly compensated without losing their full summer vacation. Most importantly, students get time back in the classroom, because every day of real school, where they learn, grow, and build friendships, counts.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)