Bennett: Taxi Driver Soon to Be ‘Job of the Past’

Education Minister Naftali Bennett expects the school year to begin on time on Thursday, and Israel police have completed their preparations for the first day of school, police said in a statement. Police officers will be deployed around schools, and will be on alert for potential security problems, while extra officers will be deployed in “seam” areas, where tensions between Arabs and Jews can flare up.

The schools in Israel are run by local authorities, and officials said that they were working hand in hand with police on the deployment of officers to direct traffic and protect children on their way to school. Police asked parents accompanying their children on foot or in vehicles to take extra caution Thursday, as there will be hundreds of thousands of children on the streets who are out of the “habit” of safe walking to school, and would require some time before they got readjusted to safety habits after two months away from school.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Bennett said that one of his main objectives was to prepare the children of Israel for the future. “Many of the professions that people work at today will not be here when the children entering school now leave in 16 years to go out into the world. There will be no more taxi drivers, Bennett said. “I do not believe there will be taxis as they currently exist.

“I am determined that every child leave the education system knowing English at a high level, and have the tools needed to read and write English well,” he added. “We need to produce graduates with practical skills, which is why we have increased the Education Ministry’s budget by tens of millions of shekels.”