Jerusalem – The Jerusalem City Council’s Finance Committee has frozen NIS 10 million in funds for the haredi girls school “Darkei Rachel,” until it agrees to accept four Sephardi school girls who have not been enrolled in school all year. The schoolgirls have been refused entry since the beginning of the academic year.
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Many Ashkenazi haredi girls’ schools allegedly operate unofficial quotas for Sephardi pupils, requiring that they not exceed 30 percent of a school’s annual student intake.
The decision taken on Sunday night conditions the transfer of funds to the Darkei Rachel school on the acceptance of the girls as pupils at the institute. According to the Noar Kahalacha advocacy group, data and documents it has collected demonstrate that a de facto 30 percent quota for Sephardi girls exists in many haredi high schools, particularly in the most prestigious schools in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Betar Illit and Modi’in Illit.
Shas City Councillor Asher Mishaeli who led the fight for the girls in question emphasised the need to fight such discrimination, although he said he believed the problem was gradually being tackled.
“The Finance Committee has put an end to this situation where four girls have been sitting at home because of discriminatory practices,” Mishaeli said, adding that such policies were backed by rabbis from the haredi community.
Yoav Laloum, director of Noar Kehalacha, welcomed the stance taken by Mishaeli and the Municipality, but said that the fact remains that in the best Ashkenazi schools, the 30 percent quotas remain in place. At the beginning of the academic year, approximately 30 girls in Jerusalem had not been enrolled in any school because of discriminatory policies, while Education Ministry figures showed that 393 students, mostly Sephardi, had not been accepted into Ashkenazi- majority schools in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Modi’in Illit and Elad.
The issue of discrimination against Sephardi school girls caused a political and social storm in 2009, when the High Court of Justice ordered an Ashkenazi girls school in the haredi settlement of Emmanuel to cease all practices separating Ashkenazi and Sephardi girls.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
The denial of funding is the least they can do. What I don’t understand is why the rosh yeshiva and askanim who commit such vile discrimination are not personally subject to prosecution? This has got to end once and for all, and the cutoff in funding is a good start.
The fact remains that sfaradim are more anti ashkenazi then the other way around,
Discrimination against their genetic origins of ashkenaz vs sephard is like baiting your own blasphemy. I would never support that sort of system. And you wonder why Israel is falling apart with the charedi at the top.
Having gone to Ashkenazic school and being Sefardic, maybe they’re better off. It’s not easy to be a kid in a ‘Jewish’ school that so strongly hates you for who you are. And it can be very challenging to remain religious as such. Why should we try so hard to be part of a world that doesn’t want us? What, do we like to get kicked in the head? We can serve Hashem without being part of any society that doesn’t want us, and they can keep it. They can sit there and continue to learn from Sefardic Rabbis while complaining that their descendants are inferior. That’s not Judaism anyway, it’s a German concept. Judaism is not a racist religion. And to #2 , if Sefardim are so much more Anti-Ashkenazi than vice versa, why is it that you don’t see Ashkenazic Jewish children trying and failing to get into Sefardic schools in large numbers like you see happening with Sefardic children? And don’t think this is limited to Israel, it happens in New York as well. It’s just harder to do something about it outside of Israel.
This is not the Torah way. There should be no difference between Ashkenazim and Sefardi children. Are the Rabbonim sactioning this behavior? How about practicing achdus for a change.
No- you do not know the facts. There were girls who did not get into the ashkenazi school in Emanuel because they did not meet the standards of frumkeit that the school wanted. They watched movies, listened to radio songs etc. To prove my point- one of the chareidim that went to jail for that was a SFARADI man!! Every school is allowed to have guidelines as to what type of child and family they want in their school and that is not discrimination!
With all of the cultural differences between Ashkenaz and Sefard, why in the world don’t they just open their own schools, yeshivas, seminary’s? Why don’t the Sefardi Rabbi’s and leaders want their rich culture to continue?
There is discrimination in every cheder, yeshiva and school. We expect this from the goyim. To see it happen between jews is especially hurtful. This behaviour can not be the ways of the Torah.
The secular also discriminate calling the chosson of my sister in law “shvartzer”
The RSO. works miracles in spite of our shortcomings.
At least sephardim ,who arent perfect either, dont have various denominations such as reform etc. That is a powerful message if any one is listening.
We also now know that marriages between sephadim and ashkenazim is resulting in BH healthy beautiful babies and is one answer to finally slowing down the scourge of “askenazei ” genetic diseases due to inbreeding.
Am yisroel chai.
“a school doesn’t need to take in every low class girl”
I cannot believe I just read this! Alterg, the lowest form of drek on earth has the nerve to call them LOW CLASS. I know that many people are sick of your $h1t, so why dont you just shut up already. Sick ba$tard.
To #22 I agree with you 100%. There is no room for discrimination!!
When we Jews stop all our internal hatred & bigotry, then maybe Moshiach will come.