A locker full of books. A new curriculum in secular schools in Israel seeks to strengthen students’ Jewish-Israeli culture starting from a young age. Photo: Eliana Rudee.

JNS.org – Israel’s Education Ministry on Wednesday announced that it will launch a new curriculum in secular schools that seeks to strengthen students’ Jewish-Israeli culture from a young age.

“The Jewish story that has been passed down from generation to generation should continue to be told. We should not cut the link. This is what was done,” Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Wednesday.

The program, called “Israeli Jewish Culture,” will replace the Jewish Heritage and Culture curriculum that is currently being taught in grades 1 to 9. The aim of the program is to introduce students to Judaism through Jewish literature, traditions, and more.

“To know who we are, to know or forefathers, Maimonides, Yehuda HaLevi’s songs, and also the life of Nahman Bialik and the writings of Ehad Ha’am, to understand the issues of the [Passover] seder, and what the fast of the 17th of Tamuz is. All are important no less than mathematics. This we will do,” said Bennett.