ABSTRACT
In this chapter we review the early literacy policy and practice in Israeli preschool education. First, we describe the early education structure. Second, we refer to the major characteristics of Hebrew that affect early literacy development and its promotion (for elaboration on the Arabic language, see Saiegh-Haddad and Everatt’s chapter in this book). Then, we overview the history of literacy promotion in Israel and focus on the New National Early Literacy Curriculum and its implementation. Finally, we discuss future challenges in the arena of early literacy.
