A high school student was stabbed to death in Kafr Qara; a 16-year-old boy was stabbed at a school in Ashdod; a 13-year-old was stabbed during a break-time fight at a high school in Be’er Sheva; nine minors were arrested on suspicion of brutally assaulting a teen in Herzliya. The epidemic of violence is raging in Israel, and these are only incidents since the beginning of November.

Between murders, assaults on teachers, and students arriving at school armed with clubs or pepper spray, it is hard to believe we are talking about educational institutions and not war zones. It seems that the Israeli education system today is not only in a pedagogical crisis but also in a survival struggle over its very ability to serve as a safe place for children and teens.

The recent violent incidents documented in schools across the country are not coincidental; they are symptoms of a tense, polarized, emotionally exhausted society that has lost the boundaries of discourse and mutual respect, and is thirsty for healing and recovery. And as always, the real price is paid in the classrooms.

According to public reports released by the police, in recent years, an average of around 16,000 criminal cases are opened each year against minors, at least 5,000 of them for violent offenses. And these are only the cases reported – many incidents of violence and assault never reach police attention.

These numbers are alarming. It is no coincidence that nearly every........

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