Thursday, December 17, 2009

British Supreme Court finds central tenet of Judaism racially discriminatory in Jewish school case

Jewish school 'racially discriminated'
(Telegraph) -- By Graeme Paton --

Most Jewish schools in England will be forced to tear up existing entry rules after the court upheld an earlier judgment that a school in north London racially discriminated against a boy.

He was rejected from JFS – formerly the Jews’ Free School, in Brent – because his mother was not born Jewish.

The school went to the Supreme Court after three judges at the Court of Appeal ruled in June that the admissions rules were unfair. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court failed to overturn the decision.

It is thought the ruling will force most of the 38 Jewish state schools in England to rewrite their admissions policies.

Legal experts told the Telegraph that the ruling would not directly affect England's 6,700 Anglican and Roman Catholic schools. But it will inevitably focus attention on the admissions arrangements of all faith schools which have been criticised in the past for lacking transparency.

Lord Rodger – one of nine Justices who heard the case – said the decision meant “that there can in future be no Jewish faith schools which give preference to children because they are Jewish according to Jewish religious law and belief.”...MORE...LINK

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