Israel – The saga continues at a school in the West Bank settlement of Immanuel, where parents are attempting to segregate Ashkenazi and Sephardi girls. “No court verdict requires the approval of any rabbi,” said Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy on Tuesday during a court hearing on the segregation at the ultra-Orthodox Beit Yaakov girls’ school in Immanuel.
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The hearing revolved around the continued violation of a High Court of Justice ruling forbidding the segregation of Sephardi and Ashkenazi students. A compromise was supposedly achieved between the religious school board and the parents, but the Ashkenazi girls’ parents rejected the compromise and refuse to allow their daughters to return to school.
The parents’ attorney argued at the hearing that “the parents have the freedom to choose not to send their children to school,” and that this is a basic right. He added that the court’s ruling prohibits segregation, but does not require the parents to send their children to school. “Where is the freedom of education, of conscience, of choice?” he asked.
Justice Levy said during the hearing that until the situation is resolved, the parents must return their daughters to school, saying “I was horrified. It was like there were never any proceedings.”
“The State of Israel has institutions, including its justice system. Without the justice system your state and ours would be unbearable,” he told the parents, adding that “I don’t know any law that requires anyone’s approval for a court ruling.”
At the conclusion of the hearing, dozens of Haredi protesters gathered outside the courthouse and called out “God is our lord.” The protesters issued a statement that the parents refuse to comply with the court’s ruling and that they will not betray their religious position.
According to their attorney, whenever there is a faith-oriented religious dispute, the rabbis’ decisions overrule the courts “which is more powerful than the decision of any other authority.”
**UPDATE**
At the end of a tumultuous court session, High Court justices ruled Tuesday that any parent of school children in Emmanuel who does not abide by the court ruling to end discrimination based on community affiliation will be jailed on Thursday for two weeks.
The justices wrote in their ruling that the parents violated the previous edict that made it clear that separating between Ashkenazi and Sephardic study tracks is ethnically, and not religiously, motivated.
They also ruled that should the parent not obey the court ruling by Wednesday, he will be imprisoned for two weeks and that the State will take the necessary action to collect the fines imposed thus far on the school and the parents.
The judges also ordered that a copy of the ruling be brought before the attorney general. They made it clear that their ruling in no way intended to thwart the State from continuing any and all measures at its lawful disposal to prevent discrimination.
The judges wrote, “It is our hope that the same harsh measures will not be necessary in Israel as were needed in the US in order to enforce the law that nullified the education doctrine of ‘separate but equal.'”
Hours before the dramatic ruling was issued, the parents tried to convey tranquility despite the harrowing situation.
A representative of the parents, Yitzhak Weinberg, told Ynet, “We have no idea what will be. We are cautiously optimistic, but with cautionary pessimism. There are layers saying that we are heading for arrest, and there are those who are saying that the High Court will not intervene in the education of our children. We may be sent to prison. This is a reasonable possibility from my perspective.”
Over the past weeks, bids were made to reach a compromise. Many contributed to this effort to reach a suitable conclusion. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar intervened a week ago at the behest of Emmanuel Chief Rabbi Gershi Ezra.
Two rabbis from the National Religious stream also tried their hands in the mediation efforts. At the beginning of the week, Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi David Davidkovich met with Rabbi Yakov Yosef in order to arrange a meeting between him and the head rabbi of the Slonim Hasidic dynasty, but neither of them succeeded in advancing the issue in any significant way.
Can someone explain what this is all about
Imagine what would have happened if 100 years ago a court in Poland gave them an order and they refused. Or for that matter, any other country in the world. Why are they not arrested? These people are criminals in every way u look at it.
Interesting. I’m not sure I understand why the Ashkenazi parents have an issue with having their kids go to school with Sephardim. Nobody seems to be claiming that the Sephardim have any issues with this… I’m also not sure I understand what Jewish law requires Ashkenazim and Sephardim to be separated.
(reply to #2 ) a similar thing did happen in Poland about 150 years ago, and the frum yidden reacted the same way (see me’er eini yisroel)
the court didn’t respond to the parents’ claim, that they also have freedom of choice, and can keep their children home.
the parents have legally (and I repeat legally, because I’m not saying they’re morally right) outsmarted the court, and for the judge to complain about it, shows they have an agenda
(reply to #1 ) I’m surprised you haven’t heard anything about this case until now, but basically what happened is, the ashkenazim there don’t allow the sefardim to join their schools, saying that their level of observance is lower than theirs, and don’t want their children exposed to them, but the court ruled that it is discrimination
I don’t get it, here in the USA we have separate school for the Sephardi and Ashkenazi students, they have many differences in the way they live according to Halocha, i.e. eating rice on Pesach etc. so why can’t it be understood in Israel that they need separate schools just like in the rest of the world.
Next: who gives the right to the Israeli court system to advise the religious Jews as how to educate their children? the court is governed by those who could not care less about the Torah laws, and the community in Emanuel are Torah observers, the right thing would be to put this situation in the hands of the Gedolim and ad-hear to their Psak.
I think what the Israeli government is trying to do is the following; to get their hands into the religious schooling system and sway them from the Torah way of life, It’s scare but if the court wins on this one, they will continue to destroy all the religious schools in Israel, the only choice will be is to close ALL of the religious schools who are supported by the state of Israel, before they have a chance to bring down the rest of Klall Yisroel.
In my opinion it might be a great idea to consider the idea of Home schooling.
Can you imagine the hard time a sephardi baal tshuva whose parent has died gets from these people? Talk about being ostracized.
I really do not know what this is about.
I think there is a feeling that Edot Mizrach girls shift interest and marry younger.
I know that my daughter went to High School in a mixed class, the Edot Mizrach girls were more true friends.
(reply to 4) the problem isn’t that they’re sefardim, these praticullar sefardim’s level of yiddishkeit isn’t up to the school’s standards. but they’re using the discrimination card to force themselves in
According to their attorney, whenever there is a faith-oriented religious dispute, the rabbis’ decisions overrule the courts “which is more powerful than the decision of any other authority”
This may truly be the lawyer’s personal belief but there are many ehrlich yidden in EY who took the advice of such lawyers and are sitting in jail for violating court orders. While these cases are fortunately few, it would be anarchy if every citizen could ignore a court order based on his/her own religious views. I suspect if they they don’t find a way to compromise, these parents will be in jail soon and for good reason.
If the Charedim get their way, there will be no Jews in the very near future. They are driving away more Jews from Torah than any other group or force in the entire world. There is no mitzvah to isolate ones self from the world. All of the great Rabbis throughout the generations (including the Tanaim and Amoraim) were worldly and well-educated in secular issues and knowledge. Many modern Gedolim had secular educations.
The basic issue here is that (Ashkenazi) Charedim hate other Jews.
Seems pretty clear. The courts are right……but for the wrong reason.
There should be no segregation. Although minhagim are quite important, it seems to me that there is a chance that the Sephardic children and their community at large will feel belittled. This is a grave and serious offense. More serious that idol worship.
Oh well, I guess because we are accustomed to yelling at a guest when they bruck at our strictly non-gebrokst pesach table – blatantly embarrassing them and transgressing a Torah edict and possibly jeopardizing our olam habbah, it should come as no surprise that this saga has reached this sorry point.
Olam ha-fooch.
How can in one breath you claim to be the chosen and love all fellow brothers and sisters and berate every Goy…..and then hate on each other so severly. Choosen? Choosen for what? You people are no only NOT better than others, you are worse and you are using your children as pawns. Also, it is ILLEGAL to keep your child home from school. There have been many cases in the US where the parents were JAILED for their children missing so much school. At this point they dont even need school….its not like they are educated or will ever get a job….just get a head start on setting fires and throwing rocks and cashing those welfare checks.
Scary. This blatant lack of Ahavas Chinam and Achdus is just scary. Unite in good times so you don’t need a “scare” to unite. Hashem wants His children to be “K’Ish Echad B’Lev Echad”. Don’t give the Satan something to talk about.
The arguments mentioned above are the typical answers you hear from white supremecists and the like.
So what if the minhagim are a bit different? Do Litvaks and Yekkes have the same minhagim? To Chasidim and Misnagdim have the same beliefs? can they learn in the same school? yes, they can. The teacher can explain to them that there are different opinions and minhagim just like he explains to them every machloket of rav and shmuel in the gemara. Are the children too weak to grasp such a basic thing?
The school accepts 00 Sepharadim. Do u mean to tell me that all the Sepharadim are less religious?? all of them??? are all the Ashkenazic students exactly on the same religious level? Obviously not. We are bringing up a generation o ignorant masses, who view Judaism through tinted glasses
I find it amazing that people are so naive to believe that all of the Sephardim are less religious and all the Ashkenazim are fervently religious. the only way I can understand it, is if eating Gefilte Fish is what defines your religion. Smells fishy, with a load of oil above it from the gulf.
I can understand if the school had some type of written guidelines of what is the min. to be accepted. For example, no TVs allowed, mom must cover hair etc. But the school has one and only one rule. If your granparents come from the same countries as the Tanaaim and Amoraim you are not accepted. I personally know people living in Emanuel and spoke to someone on the faculty of the school. A child of a Sephardic Avrech was not accepted. Any more need be said?
In a video posted on a Haredi site, one sees the girls at the eye of this storm meeting Rebbetsin Konyevski. A full 1/3 of them are Sefardim. How can this be a question of racism?
The bitter irony is that Israeli society is and always has discriminated against Haredim – and even the ordinary ‘religious’ usually don’t get a fair deal. In any other country this is forbidden by law, but not in Israel. The State encourages it because as long as the Haredim are being harassed by bureaucrats, secular neighbours or the press, they won’t assert themselves any other way. This has been State policy ever since it was founded. But somewhere deep in the Israeli psyche there must be some guilt, and they have decided to cover it up by crying racism against the Haredim, when the issue here is something completely different, namely that Haredi children may not be forced to spend the days in the company of children of an unacceptable standard of observance and behaviour. This is huge problem that has created the so-called ‘marginalised youths’ that turn every demonstration into a riot and terrorise the Haredi neighbourhoods. They are not all Sefardim, but here the rejected girls are their sisters.
From my understanding, its not a ashkenazi/sfardi issue, its that that chasidisha people aren’t willing to send their kids to school with kids who come from a home with a total different level of yiddishkeit, if there’s a sfardi who has a home with a high level they would take them in and the same the opposite with a ashkenazi if is a ….. They wouldn’t take em in
No one here seems to know the facts, just speculating. The entire Charedi system is anti-Sephardic, don’t u know that every year Rav Elyashiv has to get involved to get poor girls left without a school to classes in Sept?
Familiar with Shenker? the yeshiva ketana in Yerushalayim? they accept one Sephardi per class, as a rule. Seminar Hachadash has a quota, varies around for Sephardim, depending on what the board decides that year. O more would get accepted, regardless of religiousness.
I personally know Avreichim who couldn’t get their kids accepted to PRESCHOOL because the quota was full. We must give out of the imaginary world we live in and deal with our problems. They exist.
This is a long running dispute. The israeli media framed the matter as askenazi vs sephardi, but in reality it is Chareidi vs Interloper. There is a certain segment of sephardi culture who live a life at home that can be classified as “traditional”, but is far from a Chreidi lifestyle, but for some reason they prefer to send their children to Chareidi mosdos. these children are exposed to TV, internet, foul language, magazines etc.. That is what the Chareidi parents object to. It has nothing to due with their ancestry. The proof of that is that 30% of the Chareidi families that are defendants in the case are sephardi! So how the claim of discrimination came about is a mystery. There was testimony at the trial how the ‘modern’ girls talked to their friends about their boyfriends and TV shows.
it looks like we have all forgot about one of the most fundamental aspects of judiasm like david hamelech proclaims in shir hamalot hena ma tov vama naim sheves achim gam yachad what ever happened to sheves achim we are all one nation children of avraham whats the diff btw an ashkenazi and a sephardi we all have one torah one god whats going on here is a major chilul hashem and the parents should sit in jail for it hashme will not be able to take us out of this galus until we learn to embrace and love every jew
If my kid is a bit more religious then my neighbors, then my neighbor should not have a right to a Jewish Education?? Is that the argument here? Does G-d want us to abandon all children in the world who eat gebrochts? Emanuel is a small town, they don’t have an option of 50 schools like in Brooklyn. My father-in-law was told straight in the face that his daughter can not be accepted to the seminar because they have reached there limit of Sephardim, and he is a Rosh Kollel. Don’t be fooled by smooth talk and by people trying to compare themselves to the Gedolim of yestergeneration
Tne Netziv, brokenhearted, closed his Yeshiva rather than giving in to the russian authorities and having secular subjects taught to his Talmidim. There are certainly many other precedents for Gedolim and Roshei Yeshiva standing up for their priciples regarding Chinuch (education in the way of Torah). There has been much written about Emanuel, but it seems to me that the issue is not one of discriminating against Sephardim. Perhaps those of us thousands of miles away from the conflict should let the Torah authorities involved make the final decision. The secular courts have a very poor record of making impartial, logical decisions where Chareidim are involved.
If the Ashkenazim really cared about the religious upringing of their children, would go ahead and open another school for children with a different level of observance. Not abandon them and cause them without much choice to become Shababnikim.
The truth is, all they care is about getting a good shidduch for their kids, in other words with money, and a high social status in their corrupt society
and in 20 years they will cry that the Chilonim are taking over Emanuel, when they themselves created the situation, by not caring for their Jewish brothers
the chofetz chaim says that even in the times that we served avodah zarah we still one all our battles? the question is why and the answer is because we had acudus and peache among klal yisroel. so now we see that the biggest averiah out there is lashon hara and machlokes so know let the sfardim and askenazim go to school together thats one little problem but to have a machlokes from this that in the punishment for the averiah of murdering somebody> so know pick your choice do you want to be a machmerdig person and fight or would you rather not get all those averious and keep your mouth closed
Is homeschooling allowed in Israel? If it is then legally these parents can keep their children at home as long as they are registered as being home-schooled. If homeschooling isn’t allowed in Israel then this is truancy and the parents must send their children to school.
If sfardi people would act like MY STYLE and they would dress like MY STYLE and they would daven MY STYLE and they would talk MY STYLE and they would do shiduchim MY STYLE and they learn MY STYLE and they would eat like MY STYLE and they would behave MY STYLE and they would be all in all and the only differents would be that they are sfardi then it racism but what can I do they just total different style people its the same that everybody agrees that a teaneck girl doesn’t belong in satmer…
It’s the first time I’m hearing that Chradi Ashkanzi parents have a problem with Sfardi children. In my yeshiva in Brooklyn (Satmer) there were many sfardi children. So what’s the problem?
And if there plan lowlife racist, just tell them to put on a swastika, and leave religion out of this.
when hashem gave the torah to the yiddin did he have 2 separate mountains or 2 separate torahs for sefardim and ashkenasim?
My father is the grandson of a Chief Sephardic Rabbi. My mother is a great niece of a Chassidic Rebbe. I come from a strictly observant home and we followed Chassidic Minhagim rather than Sephardic. My mother’s father a”h did not so much as speak a Shabbat greeting to my father during the 33 years that my grandfather lived after my parents married. My grandparents only referred to my father as the “shvartze chaya”. My father sat silently as a guest at 33 sedarim droned on by my grandfather in Yiddish, a language that my father did not understand.
I went to an Ashk. BY style school where the teachers stood back laughing while the other girls cut off my hair, threw me into the mud and ripped my clothing. all the while chanting “Gypsy girl” “Indian girl” in reference to my brown skin and black hair.
Even today, when I attend an Ashk. mikveh, I am forced to soak my fingers, elbows and feet in Clorox to remove the “dirt” no matter how much I protest that the pigment that gathers at my knuckles is not “dirt” but simply my color.
The racism is very real and it has always been there. I would never send my own chlldren to an Ashk. school.
I have a simple solution. The court has ruled that the more religious group cannot force the less religious commnity into a ghetto – complete with walls made out of curtains,etc – in their own school. The more religious needed to prevent the precious souls of of the more religious girls being infected by the less religious girls
and put the less religious girls in quarantine.
The problem is that there is only one school in town. Let the more religious community choose a school of their liking elsewhere in Israel and have their girls bused there every day,
Problem solved. The less religious girls will no longer be forced into a ghetto and the more religious girls get to hang out with their own kind. and save the tiere neshomos
Chabad took students from all backgrounds going back to the days of the spiritual concentration camps called maabarot from which they rescued kids. And no one is the worse for it.
IF the Ashkenazim fund thier own schools, they are entitiled to run it as they wish . If the Israeli govt is funding it, then it should accept all students who want a Frum education. I think the problem is that the definition of Frum ah staken on so many different meanings that it is no longer possible to be an Ohev Yisroel. Its Ohev this Ashkenazi sect or that Hared sect or that Chasiidishe sect. There is Sinas Chinum once again in the Holy Land and we know what happens soon after………..
soon chilonim will want to enroll in the school after all no drugs booze and all the garbidge ……..and remember its discrimination
try to be ecsepted in harverd universaty and scream as loud as possible discimination…… after all their is grades and levels in the seculer world the same is with the torah world
1. 27% of the “ashkenazi only” school are sefardim! 2.out of 14 supreme “court” justices only 1 is a sefardi! 3.no body ever got turned down by the school except if they didnt meet the critiria! 4. ashkanazim who didnt meet the critiria were also turned down. 5.this is not about funding. the chassidim have opted to send their children to a private nonfunded school, however the “court” doesnt let!!! 6.there has never been a court ruling in the history of israel that has been favorable to chariedim 7. next time you here of a case in the court involving charidim, see if u can predict the outcome! 8.the court is a political party not based on anything related to justice! 9.there are no checks or balances on the court 10.recently the gov. had to pass a law, outlawing the court to hire thier siblings and relatives as justices!
We all support the Slonimer Chasidim, and wish them Hatzlocha, I have friends who belong to the other Slonim (B”B) and they all agree that the Slonimer Rebbe from Jerusalem has shown true leadership here. I just wish that Slonim & Slonim would get along one day, they are both such nice & Chasuve people.
Judge Levy is himself religious. And he seems to know Torah better than the rabbis here. There is NO justification for discrimination against a fellow Jew.
In its written decision, the court also makes reference to the Slonimer Chassidus, since parents explained they will follow the Rebbe Shlita, pointing out that the previous Rebbe ZT”L in his sefer Netivos Sholom, speaks of ‘deraceha darchei noam v’kol ne’sivoseha shalom’.
Let Justice prevail! Thank God for the courts
You do not have to go to EY for this type of discrimination. You have it right here in the heart of Flatbush!! In some of your finest girls yeshivas!! DISCRIMINATION!! The girls are taught by their lovely mothers!! The girls are too small to know some of the words that they used!! They were taught at home!! My kid was the recipient o those kind words!! I will not mention the yeshivas name!! If the Rabbi is reading this webside he will know !! He is lucky I did not make it public!!!
unfortunately,us chareidi jews are the biggest racist,in every sense of the word
In all my years I have never seen parents being forced by the state to send their children to any school. You could always choose private school.
If a judge in the USA forced Jews to send their children to any certain school the entire world would be up in arms about it. Including Israel. This person who calls himself a judge (wearing a Kipa) is legislating his own political wishes upon others who are Chraidy, when he is not. That’s not law, it’s ideology. We can see who should be running things. Not these guys, but our Gedolim.
This latest decision is an absolute disgrace. Regardless of what the Court ordered the SCHOOL, to do, the PARENTS should be free to sent their children whereever they wish.
The Supreme Court here has arrogated to itself the power to order parents to send their children to a particular school, over the parents’ objections that the religious level there would harm their daughters. That is an outrage, and those who do not understand where this could lead are fools.
The U.S. Supreme Court expressed the point well:
“The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925).
That was 85 years ago! Seems like the Israeli Supreme Court has not got the message.
you are all clueless, there was more than 50% sephardi girls in the chasidishe school, they came from sephrdi families that are chasidishe.
the court wants them to send there kids to a mizrachi school.
Many years ago the Gedolim Rabonim have asked the Chradim not to take funding from the state of Israel because the state will eventually seek to gain control of Chraidy education system, and now we see it happening in from of our eyes in broad day light.
I suggest the Slonimer Chasidim wake up and stop taking the funding from the state of Israel. They must turn to Hashem and ask him for funding instead and this will be a great Kiddush Hashem, it might awaken the rest of the Mosdos to realize how low we have fallen for government money and discontinue excepting it.
It seems one of the roots of the problem is that the school takes funding from the State, and some people have argued that therefore the school should pass on the State funding, and thus State regulation, and raise their money themselves. The problem is, who are they going to raise it from? The Chareidi public by and large is unemployed or underemployed. We Yidden in Chutz are having trouble keeping our own schools open, much less donate to mosdos elswhere.
So, it’s either accept the State funding along with the regulation, or send the fathers out to get jobs. The only problem is that the fathers don’t know enough secular knowledge to get reasonable jobs. Bein hasakin l’roveh.
Kol Hakavod to ALL the parents of the girls. They are showing to all Israelies what real Jewish parents are all about. They are dedicated to their childrens education 100%, No Supreme court or any other organization will rule over the Rabbis.
They are our REAL leaders and we do what they say. Now the judges of the supreme court should learn the meaning of ‘Daas Torah’.