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Last update - 18:27 06/03/2008 U.K. Jewish school sued for barring pupil over conversion By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent, and Saul Sadka Tags: U.K., Judaism, JFS  A British couple is suing the largest and oldest Jewish high school over the school's refusal to accept their son as a student because his mother did not convert in an Orthodox ceremony. The case, now before the High Court in London, has attracted wide media attention in the U.K. and is a source of contention in the Jewish community. M Advertisement ost of the 1,900 students in the Jewish Free School (JFS), founded in 1732, do not come from Orthodox homes. Nevertheless, the school is identified with the central stream of British Jewry, the United Synagogue, which accepts the authority of the London Beth Din, or rabbinic court. The London rabbinic court is considered more strict on matters of conversion than rabbinic courts in Israel. The parents, who have remained anonymous, describe as racist and illegal the school's refusal to accept their son because his mother was converted to Judaism in a Conservative ceremony. They say this is racist and illegal because the school receives government funding. Other couples whose children were refused entry by the JFS have also joined the suit. One of the parents, David Lightman, father of 14-year-old Maya, said his wife underwent an Orthodox conversion in Israel 20 years ago, and although they keep a kosher home, go to synagogue every Saturday and are very active in the community, the London religious court said she had not been sincere in her conversion because he is a Cohen (descendant of a priest), and according to Jewish law should not marry a convert. "Fundamentally it is running a racist admissions policy. You could eat bacon every day and have no problem but a religiously practicing Jew cannot attend," Lightman told Haaretz last month. "There is a small cabal at the top that has Anglo-Jewry by the throat and holds the Chief Rabbi in the palm of their hands," he added. "[Chief Rabbi] Jonathan Sacks won't speak to us, we are very much pawns in this situation," says Lightman. "I am an ex-pupil, my sisters attended the school, my wife is head of English yet they will not take my daughter," he says. According to Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of the Liberal Judaism movement in Britain, "the acceptance policy of the school is discriminatory and motivated by political considerations. They are trying to shore up the beth din and the United Synagogue establishment, while 35 percent of British Jews belong to Reform and Liberal streams. JFS is state-funded and should serve the entire Jewish community." A spokesman for the school declined to respond during the hearing. But in a position paper the school released, it said no discriminatory policy existed and argued that according to British law, it was within its rights to prefer certain students in keeping with rules set for the school by Britain's chief rabbi. The British Department of Education responded that "the ministry does not intervene in internal school policy." What is really going on is a power struggle between the British Chief rabbinate and its Israeli counterpart," says Geoffrey Alderman, an academic involved in the case. "The Chief Rabbi wants the London Beit Din to be the only body competent to convert British people anywhere in the world. Mrs Lightman is merely a pawn in this dispute," he adds. Related articles: Report: U.K. Jewish school told to cut ethnic admissions criteria Judaism bound by the charter More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Hezbollah scare Lebanese group's influence has dramatically increased in the West Bank. Literary boycott Peres calls Muslim countries' shunning of Paris Book Fair 'most ridiculous.'   1.   Racism? 10:17  |  Joseph 06/03/08   2.   Not much of a case 10:21  |  Sherlock Holmes 06/03/08   3.   Why sue us? 10:26  |  Ben Azai 06/03/08   4.   Get your facts straight 12:38  |  D Hirod 06/03/08   5.   Ben - it`s not an "Orthodox school" as you suggest 13:23  |  Hannah 06/03/08   6.   Also, Ben - the couple who are suing the school are Orthodox! 13:28  |  Hannah 06/03/08   7.   Enough already 13:32  |  Michael 06/03/08   8.   on "not much of a case" 13:37  |  rob 06/03/08   9.   Jewish racism 13:52  |  Fussion 06/03/08   10.   JFS 14:04  |  Paul 06/03/08   11.   cohen convert marriage 14:09  |  maya 06/03/08   12.   Brilliant!!! 14:14  |  ScotGuy 06/03/08   13.   JFS 14:35  |  Bernie Ralph 06/03/08   14.   The school´s underlying problem 14:55  |  AliciaYasmeen 06/03/08   15.   Far from racist 15:47  |  Jewish State 06/03/08   16.   What if they were not "married"? 16:08  |  Jerry 06/03/08   17.   cohen convert marriage 16:15  |  maya 06/03/08   18.   More Jewish Racism, just like in Israel. Seems institutionalized 16:16  |  POP 06/03/08   19.   Why??? 16:20  |  Mikesailor 06/03/08   20.   Disgraceful. They should sue 16:20  |  Liliane 06/03/08   21.   No Alicia, they have always allowed non-observant Jews 16:23  |  Hannah 06/03/08   22.   `Jewish State` the problem is that the school doesn`t agree 16:35  |  Hannah 06/03/08   23.   isreal should be sued 16:41  |  sam i am 06/03/08   24.   Jewish rules for Jewish school 16:42  |  Master Yoda 06/03/08   25.   Racist is racist 16:55  |  Ulf 06/03/08   26.   Religion or Politics? 17:21  |  oh well 06/03/08   27.   There They Sat, silent and stolid 17:39  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/03/08   28.   congratulations! 17:52  |  Chaim Moykopf 06/03/08   29.   Jewish State this is nonsense 18:07  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/03/08   30.   Maya 18:12  |  judith 06/03/08   31.   @rob #8 18:20  |  DA 06/03/08   32.   Funny... 18:55  |  Dhimmi Hendrix 06/03/08   33.   British Courts 19:16  |  MichaelF 06/03/08   34.   #2 -Sherlock 19:20  |  MichaelF 06/03/08   35.   #9 - Fussion 19:24  |  MichaelF 06/03/08   36.   #11 - maya 19:27  |  MichaelF 06/03/08   37.   NOT RACISM . . . JUST INSANITY! 20:06  |  tbart 06/03/08   38.   The Lightmans had an orthodox wedding 20:21  |  Hannah 06/03/08   39.   What a crock of bloated syntax (BS) 20:27  |  Keith Johnson 06/03/08   40.   Master Yoda and his test of purity 20:32  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/03/08   41.   Convert the kid 20:49  |  Ari 06/03/08   42.   Orthodox marriage??? 20:58  |  Israel 06/03/08   43.   Convert the kid 21:19  |  Ari 06/03/08   44.   Scotguy 21:26  |  judith 06/03/08   45.   king david`s grand mother 21:27  |  a simple jew 06/03/08   46.   No state funds 23:57  |  Truth 06/03/08   47.   #25 Many Jews in Britain could not go to Christian Schools 00:05  |  Liliane 07/03/08   48.   Stop this "who is a Jew" nonsense, school should be glad 00:07  |  Sara 07/03/08   49.   We have enough Problems, WHY FIGHTS AMONG OURSELVES!! 00:24  |  Alan Sip 07/03/08   50.   Yaakov commenting on the rabbinical establishment 00:28  |  Noam 07/03/08   51.   Reply to #34 00:42  |  Joe 07/03/08   52.   Lots of points raised, but 00:47  |  Joseph 07/03/08   53.   Master Yoda 00:53  |  Chaval 07/03/08   54.   British Jewish School 00:58  |  leven5 07/03/08   55.   to: Chaim 01:03  |  leven5 07/03/08   56.   JFS Conversion Debacle 01:34  |  GMC 07/03/08   57.   UK Jewish School Sued 02:44  |  Gina 07/03/08   58.   Yes, but is it `racist`? 13:09  |  Ben Azai 07/03/08   59.   Noam and his peons 14:55  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/03/08   60.   to leven5 and others: I count on the goyim 14:59  |  Chaim Moykopf 07/03/08   61.   Noam on "my abhorent views" 15:02  |  Yaakov Sullivan 07/03/08   62.   To Keith Johnson 00:02  |  Theodor 08/03/08   63.   Pope 16:58  |  TA 13/03/08

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