A girl is tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a drive-through site as Israel faces a surge in Omicron variant infections in Jerusalem Jan. 3, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad

i24 News – School principals throughout Israel sent a letter to Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz on Friday, demanding that they “stop distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated children in the education system,” Channel 12 reported.

They also criticized policies regarding testing and isolation periods in the education system.

“We believe this is an injustice and a problematic distinction,” they wrote in a letter signed by principals across the country.

“Over the past two years, the children of Israel have gone through an extremely difficult period. The results of this long period – which is not yet over – are intimately known to all of us, and we are doing everything we can to care, support, create responses, mobilize resources and maintain stability for all of our children,” the letter continued.

“Since the omicron wave began, the situation in the education system has changed dramatically.”

The principals stressed their “unequivocal” support for leaving the education system “open and functional, despite the complexity.”

However, they noted that the guidelines that currently distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated children are “harsh and offensive” and “undermine the foundations of the communities in which we operate.”

“Every day, we find creative solutions that reach all children – in school and out of school to keep them connected and preserved as much as possible,” the officials added, arguing that the latest moves by the Department of Education and Health have “a high mental cost for children.”

“We believe this is an injustice and a problematic distinction – the rationale for which at this time is unclear,” the leaders noted in the letter.

“There is a very painful conflict between the right to education, mental health, and the desire to pressure the public to vaccinate children.”

“We ask that the system remain open with a change in guidelines, so that the same rules apply to every boy and girl as long as they are not positive for the disease,” they concluded.