A leading Jewish school broke the Race Relations Act by refusing admission to a boy because his mother was not officially recognised as a Jew, the Court of Appeal ruled today.
Three judges said the entry criteria at JFS in North-West London racially discriminated against the boy.
The decision is expected to have a direct impact on many other Jewish schools across the UK which are believed to operate a similar policy.
The case hinged on the Judaic rule that only counts an individual as Jewish if his or her mother is.
Although the 12-year-old’s father is Jewish by birth, his mother converted to Judaism. Her conversion took place at a Progressive rather than an Orthodox synagogue and is therefore not recognised by the Office of the Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks.
State-maintained JFS – formerly the Jews’ Free School – argued that its admissions policy, which gives preference to Jewish children when the school is oversubscribed, was lawful because it was based on religious and not racial criteria.
But the judges said that ‘the requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or by conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act’.
The refusal of a place for the boy – who cannot be named – amounted to unjustifiable direct discrimination by the Brent school, Lord Justices Sedley and Rimer and Lady Justice Smith said in their ruling.
Even if it had been indirect, ‘we consider its purpose to be selection on the basis of ethnicity and therefore not to constitute a legitimate aim’.
Faith schools are allowed to give preference to children of their own faith if oversubscribed – so long as ethnic origin is not used as a deciding factor.
After the judgment, solicitor John Halford, representing the boy’s father, said: ‘We welcome the strong statement by the court that the fundamental right to equality before the law, regardless of race, applies to the admissions criteria of a faith school.’
Mr Halford said the school should now admit the boy immediately and not pursue a further appeal to the House of Lords.
He said: ‘We have never sought to interfere with the right of Orthodox Jews to define for their own religious purposes who they do or do not recognise as Jewish.
‘However, it is unlawful for a child’s ethnic origins to be used as the criterion for entry to a school.’
He added: ‘Such a practice is even more unacceptable in the case of a comprehensive school funded by the taxpayer.’
The boy’s parents are now divorced and he lives with his father, with whom he is an active member of the local synagogue.
The Appeal Court judges had allowed an appeal by the father against a decision by Mr Justice Munby in the High Court that the JFS entry policy was ‘entirely legitimate’ and there had been no unlawful discrimination.
Mr Justice Munby had warned that a decision against the school could throw faith schools of all kinds into disarray by making their admissions arrangements unlawful.
But the appeal judges said no faith school was immune from the prohibition on race discrimination.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Mayo Clinic Says Racism Causes African Americans to Have Heart Attacks
- CNN Says Wearing a Face Mask in Public is Racist
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wants Coronavirus Reparations for Blacks, says its White People's fault
- Japanese Angry After Ukrainian Woman Wins Miss Japan 2024 Title
- First Black MEP in Czechia Convicted of Raping Women
Loading ...
Ah,the Jewless immigration problem.
Why do Orthodox Jews have such long beards?
To break the swing of German testicles.