Is Jewish school admission a matter of race or religion?

Recently, a Jewish school admission has raised a national controversy which the Appeal Court ruled out its admission based on racial ground, whereas the Office of the Chief Rabbi and the school adjudicator insists the issue is purely a religious matter.

JFS, previously known as the Jews' Free School, in Brent, London, rejected a 12-year-old boy known as M, because of his mother’s conversion to Judaism in a procedure not recognised by the Orthodox Chief Rabbi, according to the Guardian.

JFS is reportedly one of the Britain’s oldest Jewish schools and the largest Orthodox Jewish school across Europe, with 2,000 pupils.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills described JFS as outstanding and oversubscribed every academic year.

Two years ago, the case was sealed supporting the school, but today the Court of Appeal overturned the previous judgement and ruled that a policy determining eligibility based on a person’s descent, rather than religious practice, amounted to racial discrimination, the Guardian has learnt.

The Jewish Chronicle Journalist, Simon Rocker, wrote to the Guardian on 11 July, the judges were able to arrive at the decision because Jews and Sikhs are considered as an ethnic group under the Race Relations Act in a way that Christians, Muslims and Hindus are not.

Lord Justice Sedley told the BBC: “It appears clear to us…that Jews constitute a racial group defined principally by ethnic origin and additionally by conversion.”

He added: “To discriminate against a person on the ground that he or someone else either is or is not Jewish is therefore to discriminate against him on racial grounds.”

However, the school plans to appeal to the House of Lords, and argued that it had rejected the boy purely on religious grounds, according to the Guardian.

The law says faith schools are exempt from religious discrimination in giving priority to children of their own faith.

The country’s largest non-Orthodox denomination, the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ), says it deplores entry policies which have barred children like M from entering Orthodox schools.

However, it insists that the Appeal Court should reverse its decision, as MRJ believes the issue is an internal Jewish affair and should not be intervened, the Guardian reports.

Part of the admission Code of Conduct in JFS, according to the Timesonline, means it can favour non-practising children whose mothers were born Jewish over those whose mothers converted to the faith and are religiously observant.

The United Synagogue told the BBC all Jewish schools in future will need to adopt a religious practice test to select pupils, similar to Christian schools which require church attendance.

However, Jewish leaders fear such methods could make it harder for less ritually observant Jews to gain a place at a Jewish school, thereby deny Jewish education to a sector of the community that may need it most.

Simon Rocker went on to explain that when people talk of religion, they may think of it simply in terms of creed and ritual but for Judaism, identification with peoplehood is a critical component.

Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield, Head of the Reform Movement said in an interview with Simon Rocker, the Appeal Court ruling is a “disaster” which “fails to completely to understand the nature of Jewish identity and of Jewish religiosity”.

Simon Rocker commented that anti-discrimination legislation can be a double-edged sword for minorities that believe it is designed to protect them.

Recent year’s new laws have come in against religious discrimination and hatred, including groups that fell outside race relations law.

However while extension of the law has been broadly welcomed by religious leaders, the flipside is that it gives the courts more power to interfere in the business of religious communities.

Similar cases also happened in February 2008, the school refused to admit a 13-year-old girl, who actively leads a Jewish life, but her mother’s conversion is not recognised by Chief Rabbi in this country.

Her father, Mr Lightman said: “My daughter asks why she can’t go to the school. I find it hard to explain to her. We will seek a judicial review on the grounds that we believe the admission code is racially discriminatory against people not born into religion.”

Mr and Mrs Lightman are seeking a judicial review in the High Court to resolve their four-year battle, according the Timesonline.