As the new school year gets underway across the country, it is becoming clear that more Israeli Jews than ever are choosing religious education for their children. Both the hareidi-religious and religious-Zionist school systems saw an increase in enrollment, while secular schools saw a drop. Last year, 662,721 children were enrolled in Israel's non-religious public school system. This September, enrollment has dropped to 660,412, despite an overall increase in the total number of students. In the public-religious school system, on the other hand, enrollment has grown by 0.9%, going from 207,447 last school year to 209,310. The hareidi-religious system of recognized non-public schools experienced the fastest growth by far, with enrollment up by 3.76% in just one year. In total, 230,692 pupils joined the hareidi-religious system this year, up from 222,325 the year before. Total enrollment is up by 0.75%, as Israel's population continues to grow. Last year 1,139,841 students were enrolled in Jewish schools in Israel; this year that number has grown to 1,148,429.
