When veteran Israeli educator Meirav Seror asked her high school literature class in Beersheba how they might use artificial intelligence to study for their matriculation exam, she expected hesitation.
Instead, the students pounced. Using prompts, one student asked AI to turn key concepts into a rhyming song. Within minutes, the class was singing its way through material that once felt dry and intimidating.
For Seror, vice principal of the Amal Ramot high school in Beersheba, it was a revelation.
“We used to think our job was to be the source of knowledge,” she said. “But today, knowledge is everywhere. Our role now is to be mentors, to guide, to question, to help students reflect and apply.”
That’s the spirit behind Pedagogical AI (PAI), an ambitious initiative by Israel’s Amal Educational Network to remake the classroom for the artificial intelligence era.
As schools worldwide struggle with how to respond to the advent of AI, and some educators worry about students using tools like ChatGPT to cut corners, Amal has embraced AI as a way to deepen learning and expand opportunity. As one of Israel’s oldest and most diverse school networks, Amal is training its teachers to use AI thoughtfully, documenting its methods and building an open digital platform so its practices can be shared with schools in Israel and beyond.
“AI is not going away, and we don’t want it to,” said Dr. Mor Tal, Amal’s head of technological education and director of PAI. “The question is how we can harness it so that teachers gain time for real pedagogy, for caring about each student as a person.”
A national public system that operates schools in cities and rural communities across Israel, Amal Educational Network’s aim is to provide high-quality education while helping bridge social and economic gaps. Amal schools serve around 30,000 students in 50 schools and 11 technical engineering colleges, with a strong focus on vocational and technological education. Its student body includes immigrants, Arabs, Bedouins, haredim and Druze — reflective of the school’s emphasis on coexistence.
The PAI initiative is built on five core pedagogical principles: personalization, independent learning, collaborative learning, applied learning and values-based education. Teachers from multiple fields — science, math, language, humanities, technology and civics — take part in a three-year professional learning journey meant to transform how they plan lessons, teach and assess students.
The program’s academic design comes from Dr. Dovi Weiss, Amal’s head of techno-pedagogical innovation and a leading Israeli expert in educational technology.
“One-size-fits-all instruction doesn’t work,” Weiss said. “Personalization is the opposite of that. We need independent learners because knowledge changes so fast. We need collaboration because it’s not the age of Leonardo da Vinci anymore. And we need learning that is both applied and values-based: democracy, equality, community, ethics. AI can help teachers bring all of that into the classroom.”
Amal Educational Network present their innovative projects at the EducAItion 2026 international conference in Jerusalem in February 2026. (Courtesy Amal)
In one Amal school, a teacher working with students who struggle with reading uses AI to generate personalized reading exercises with audio support. Each student listens to texts through headphones at their own pace and receives immediate feedback, turning what was once a painful, public struggle into a private, supported learning experience.
In another school, math teachers use AI to create problem sets at different levels of difficulty so that each student can progress at their own pace. Advanced learners can move ahead quickly, while those who need more time can receive additional practice without stigma or delay.
“AI isn’t just about being more efficient,” Seror said. “If you can give every student a personalized pathway, you are giving equal opportunity. That is a foundation of a democratic society.”
Many PAI projects also connect technology with real-world needs; students at Amal schools have used AI tools to identify problems in their communities, design solutions and test prototypes. Among their projects: a smart suitcase for travelers with disabilities and small hydroelectric turbines designed to generate clean energy. In each case, students used AI not to skip over learning, but to enhance research, design and reflection.
From the start, Amal built an ethics component into PAI. Teachers receive guidance on how to talk with students about the risks of AI, including privacy, bias and misinformation. Lessons emphasize critical thinking, such as comparing AI-generated content with other sources, examining possible bias in algorithms and evaluating claims that spread through social media.
For Amal, these discussions are not an add-on. They are central to the network’s longstanding commitment to democratic education and shared society. Administrators see PAI as an extension of their broader mission: using education to create a more equal, cohesive Israel in which students from all backgrounds can participate fully in the economy and civic life.
“Technology is not here to replace the teacher, but to extend the teacher,” said Dr. Weiss. “When AI takes over some of the repetitive tasks, teachers can spend more time on what matters most: relationships, values and deep learning.”
Already, Amal reports that these practices are changing how teachers use their time. Tasks such as building worksheets, generating differentiated practice materials and even preparing some assessments can be partly automated, freeing teachers to focus on feedback, mentoring and project-based learning.
The PAI program emerged during a turbulent time for Israel. The long war after Oct. 7 has taken a heavy toll on students, families and educators, especially in the country’s geographic and social periphery. Many Amal students and teachers have experienced loss, displacement or ongoing uncertainty.
“In this moment, the only way to rebuild our society is through education,” said Karen Tal, Amal’s director general and an internationally renowned educator. “The PAI program allows us to bring our students back to experiential learning, to support their personal development and to help both society and the economy recover.”
Seror says PAI has been transformative for teachers, too. “After 30 years as a teacher, I feel like I am learning again,” she said. “It gives me energy, and it gives my students hope.”
The initiative, Amal leaders emphasize, is still young. But with nearly the entire community of teachers of the network already engaged in PAI, they believe they are charting a path that could be relevant far beyond Israel.
“This is not only about Israel,” Seror said. “Every education system will have to figure out how to live with AI. Our hope is to show how it can be done in a way that strengthens democracy, equality and human connection.”
Looking ahead, Amal is now working to take PAI to its next stage, expanding its reach and deepening its impact across the network and beyond. “The next phase of PAI is about scale and vision,” said Yael Nathanel, resource development lead at Amal. “We are developing tools that will help teachers integrate AI in ways that not only enhance learning, but also embed democratic and civic values into everyday classroom practice. Our goal is to empower educators to nurture students as engaged, responsible citizens, grounded in the principles that shaped Israel’s founding.”
Nathanel added that this effort will require strong partnerships. “For those who believe in the power of education to help rebuild and strengthen Israeli society, this is a moment to be part of something meaningful — to invest in teachers and in a future rooted in equality, participation and shared responsibility.”
Reporting the stories that define our era. When history unfolds in real-time, the Jewish world turns to (JEWISH REVIEW). Your support ensures we can document the complexities of war and the resilience of Jewish communities with integrity.
