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Last update - 12:59 28/11/2007
Report: U.K. Jewish school told to cut ethnic admissions criteria
By Haaretz Service
Tags: admissions, U.K. Chief Rabbi 

The Jewish Free School (JFS) in London has removed from its admissions criteria a clause favoring ethnically Jewish children after the school was accused of breaking state anti-discrimination laws, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, the top Jewish state school was accused of discrimination after it denied a place to a child who did not meet the definition of Jewish set by Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Sacks, who is the school's religious authority, had stipulated that applicants must have an ethnically Jewish mother in order to be accepted into the school.
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The mother of the child in question, who heads the school's English department, had converted to Judaism under supervision of Israel's chief rabbi.

Following the accusation, chief schools arbitrator Philip Hunter ruled that the JFS had not violated race relation laws as it was following religious, rather than racial, criteria.

Nevertheless, he ordered the school to remove from its admissions rules a sub-clause giving preference to children with at least one Jewish parent or grandparent, calling it "indirectly discriminating," The Guardian said.

"It is greatly reassuring that the determination of the criteria for admission of Jewish children to JFS has been confirmed as being a religious, not a racial matter, and the authority of the office of the chief rabbi to determine the Jewish status of our applicants has been confirmed," said a JFS spokesman following the ruling.

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      1.   And a school for economics shouldn`t teach economics either 10:30  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      2.   re #1 10:43  |  Colin Wright 28/11/07
      3.   This was a STATE school 10:55  |  Abner Shnuzel 28/11/07
      4.   So racial discrimination isn`t OK, religious descrimination is? 10:55  |  Michael 28/11/07
      5.   So much blather! 10:59  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      6.   Jewish Schools 11:44  |  Naim S. Mahlab 28/11/07
      7.   expose children to school, drugs, tv, street life but not 11:45  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      8.   MY MONEY, MY SAY... THIS IS DISCIMINATORY 11:49  |  British Citizen 28/11/07
      9.   #5. Israeli Conversions 11:49  |  Yitz 28/11/07
      10.   A pyrrhic victory 11:53  |  JFS survivor 28/11/07
      11.   JFS 12:05  |  Steve 28/11/07
      12.   Try using your brain 7 12:24  |  Michael 28/11/07
      13.   British Citizen 8. It`s legal discrimination. That`s the disgrace 12:29  |  Michael 28/11/07
      14.   Racist Jewish traditions should be abolished unilaterally 12:41  |  Adolfo E. Talpalar 28/11/07
      15.   To Naim S. Mahlab 12:47  |  Muslim 28/11/07
      16.   Michael I have no knowledge of Muslim schools, but Catholic 12:51  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      17.   Racist Swedish posters should be banned 13:22  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      18.   Church of England Schools 13:25  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      19.   # 6 Naim of Montreal 13:44  |  Lynn 28/11/07
      20.   # 17 Israeli 13:49  |  Lynn 28/11/07
      21.   #3 13:49  |  Dr Robert Frosch 28/11/07
      22.   British Citizen & Co 13:52  |  Ludicrous 28/11/07
      23.   Jewish Madrassah`s 14:09  |  POP 28/11/07
      24.   School is popular, surge of applications, re Christ L, etc 14:10  |  Johnny 28/11/07
      25.   Missing piece of the story 14:19  |  Sam 28/11/07
      26.   Being fair 14:20  |  Teacher 28/11/07
      27.   Chris 18, they legally discriminate, by priority. 14:21  |  Michael 28/11/07
      28.   To 15 14:23  |  American 28/11/07
      29.   Michael#13... YOU RIGHT BUT... 14:24  |  British Citizen 28/11/07
      30.   #20 Johnny 14:35  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      31.   Europe`s Muslim Future? 14:44  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      32.   POP tell us about Madrassahs 14:53  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 28/11/07
      33.   Europe`s Muslim Future? Part Two 14:54  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      34.   The Matter Is Simple 14:55  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      35.   British Citizen: so a school for the deaf 14:56  |  Israeli 28/11/07
      36.   #27 Michael 14:57  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      37.   Cut off response 14:59  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      38.   #31 Daybreak 15:01  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      39.   The new face of European racism 15:04  |  Frank 28/11/07
      40.   JEIWISH SCHOOL 15:04  |  HM 28/11/07
      41.   Muslim #15 15:14  |  ChanahS 28/11/07
      42.   #38 Chris Linthwaite 15:35  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      43.   DISCRIMINATION AGAINST KOSHER CONVERTS IS A GRAVE SIN,RABBI SACKS 15:37  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 28/11/07
      44.   re#3 15:43  |  ruby 28/11/07
      45.   Glad someone challenged hegemony of JFS 15:45  |  topanga 28/11/07
      46.   re: School ethnicity 15:47  |  ruby 28/11/07
      47.   # 35 15:56  |  Ben 28/11/07
      48.   #42 Daybreak Part 1 16:02  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      49.   #42 Daybreak Part2 16:09  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      50.   Nothing to talk about 16:13  |  17 28/11/07
      51.   #39 Frank 16:14  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      52.   Chris Linthwaite #48 16:17  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      53.   THEN THE VATICAN SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE JEWISH TOO !! 16:20  |  amir 28/11/07
      54.   Chris Linthwaite Part 2 16:35  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      55.   # 53 16:38  |  Ben 28/11/07
      56.   Stupid School Policy 16:41  |  Semsem 28/11/07
      57.   Next: Synagogues /Churches/Mosques should open to all religions 16:41  |  AA 28/11/07
      58.   Church of England Schools Banned Jews 16:45  |  Liliane 28/11/07
      59.   More anti- semitism 16:53  |  Choni Davidowitz 28/11/07
      60.   Liliane, we are talking about 2007 16:59  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      61.   AA in Jerusalem #58 17:01  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      62.   53 AMIR SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A BRAIN TOO!! 17:05  |  Brit Moron 28/11/07
      63.   Choni Dawidowitz on anti-semitism 17:27  |  Yaakov Sullivan 28/11/07
      64.   HM Re Daybreak #40 17:53  |  Remi 28/11/07
      65.   Ethnically Jewish? 18:01  |  Disgusted 28/11/07
      66.   #64 Remi 18:07  |  Daybreak 28/11/07
      67.   The ultimate religous beauty contest 18:11  |  David 28/11/07
      68.   POP - Jewish Madrassahs...? 18:34  |  David Israel 28/11/07
      69.   TO ONE BRIT FROM ANOTHER 18:41  |  Nicole 28/11/07
      70.   TO BRITISH CITIZEN 18:46  |  Nicole 28/11/07
      71.   TO STEVE - RE: JFS 18:52  |  Nicole 28/11/07
      72.   Yakov Sullivan: that`s the best you could come up with? 18:59  |  AA 28/11/07
      73.   Nicole: Tell us what you think about the new wave of anti-S in UK 19:09  |  AA 28/11/07
      74.   Something is wrong in this report 19:35  |  MichaelF 28/11/07
      75.   Nicole 19:38  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/11/07
      76.   `yaacov`, you again? 19:40  |  goldenberg 28/11/07
      77.   racism integral to judaism 19:47  |  PG 28/11/07
      78.   `yaacov` about anti-semitism 20:08  |  goldenberg 28/11/07
      79.   Yaakov Sullivan # 16 - Outrageous exageration 20:16  |  David Israel 28/11/07
      80.   Religious Schools 20:20  |  Ashraf 28/11/07
      81.   Another reason I dropped my conversion and practice Judaism alone 20:22  |  Sarah 28/11/07
      82.   It can be Jewish but cannot discriminate against anyone! 20:25