Three judges held that the entry criteria at JFS, formerly the Jews' Free School, in Brent, north-west London, racially discriminated against the boy, referred to as M. The boy's father is Jewish by birth, but his mother is Jewish by conversion conducted at a Progressive rather than an Orthodox synagogue and therefore not recognised by the Office of the Chief Rabbi (OCR), Dr Jonathan Sacks. It is a basic principle that a child is not recognised by the OCR and other bodies as Jewish unless his or her mother is Jewish. JFS argued that its admissions policy giving preference to Jewish children when the school was 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 discrimination against M was direct discrimination and therefore could not be justified, said Lords Justices Sedley and Rimer and Lady Justice Smith. 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". 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 urged the state-maintained school to admit M, aged 12, immediately in the light of the judgment 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. "Such a practice is even more unacceptable in the case of a comprehensive school funded by the taxpayer." Many other Jewish schools across the UK are believed to operate a similar policy and will be directly affected by the court's decision. Faith schools in general are allowed to give preference to children of their own faith if they are oversubscribed – so long as the process is not based on ethnic origin. The judges allowed an appeal by M's 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 direct or indirect unlawful discrimination. The judge had warned that a decision against the school could render unlawful the admission arrangements in a very large number of faith schools of many different faiths and denominations. But the appeal judges said that was the wrong approach. What Mr Justice Munby had characterised as religious grounds were in fact racial grounds, despite their theological motivation. No faith school was immune from the prohibition on race discrimination, they said. An oversubscribed faith school which admitted only children whose parents came from a country where the school's faith was the official religion would have a case to answer. M's parents are now divorced and the boy lives with his father, with whom he is an active member of the local synagogue. JFS said it would seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords because today's judgment would seriously undermine the Jewish ethos of the school. Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said: "The principles underlying membership of the Jewish faith have been maintained consistently throughout Judaism's long history, as has our duty to educate our children in the principles and practice of the faith itself. "These principles have nothing to do with race and everything to do with religion. Ethnicity is irrelevant to Jewish identity, according to Jewish Law. "Education has been the crucible of Judaism throughout the millennia, and the development of Jewish faith schools is one of Anglo Jewry's greatest achievements. "I have advised the leadership of JFS, the United Synagogue and the Board of Deputies on behalf of our community that they have my full personal support and encouragement to use the necessary avenues available to them to maintain our historic rights to be true to our faith and a blessing to others regardless of their faith."Jewish school breaks Race Relations Act
A leading Jewish school, JFS in Brent, 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 has ruled.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
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