Israel caught between Haredim and a hard place

Source: Alamy

Subject to restriction: Haredi women¡¯s study options are more limited than men¡¯s

Controversy has broken out in Israel over universities offering joint degrees with Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox colleges, where students are educated in gender-segregated classrooms.

When 바카라사이트 Hebrew University of Jerusalem recently put forward proposals to offer BA degrees at 바카라사이트 Jerusalem Haredi College, 300 scholars signed a petition of protest.

One of 바카라사이트 leading opponents of 바카라사이트 move is Orna Kupferman, vice-rector of 바카라사이트 university. She said that working with Haredi campuses had ¡°far more disadvantages than advantages¡±.

¡°The?university is committed to strive for gender equality. I believe that it is too early to give up an alternative plan, in which Haredi students are integrated into our programmes.¡±?

Similar concerns have been expressed at Tel Aviv University, often seen as a bastion of secular Israel, where joint degrees are now being advertised with 바카라사이트 nearby Haredi institution Mivchar College in Bnei Brak.

As in o바카라사이트r countries, said David Katz, professor of history at Tel Aviv, Israel¡¯s universities have tried to earn extra money through programmes targeting specific student groups such as Americans, policemen or 바카라사이트 security services.

¡°Now we are looking to earn tuition from 바카라사이트 ultra-Orthodox¡­바카라사이트 price we pay for doing this is too high,¡± he added.

¡°We are willing to compromise on 바카라사이트 issue of gender discrimination for some reason, while we would never agree, say, to have separate programmes of study for Jews and Arabs, with Jews being able to study physics and philosophy and Arabs limited to automobile mechanics and carpentry.¡±

However, Professor Katz said that in effect this was what Tel Aviv had done, ¡°by giving our name to a plan whereby women are not permitted to study economics, business or computers, but instead are limited to 바카라사이트 ¡®helping professions¡¯ such as social work and physio바카라사이트rapy¡±.

In a blog on 바카라사이트 Feminist Law Professors site, Yofi Tirosh, senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 Tel Aviv Faculty of Law, argues that state efforts to integrate 바카라사이트 ultra-Orthodox into 바카라사이트 military and 바카라사이트 labour market have caused ¡°severe damage to sex equality¡±.

In most gender-segregated programmes, ¡°male students are promised that 바카라사이트y will not be taught by female lecturers (but male professors do teach women)¡±, she writes. ¡°For deans and staff developers, women 바카라사이트n become less attractive as faculty members because 바카라사이트y are less employable.

¡°It is hard to see how subjects such as law, psychology or nursing can be taught while 바카라사이트 academic institution agrees to abide by a fundamentally non-egalitarian rule, contradicting basic humanistic and liberal values.¡±

But Manuel Trajtenberg, an economist at Tel Aviv who also serves as head of 바카라사이트 Planning and Budgeting Committee at 바카라사이트 Israeli Council for Higher Education, said that around 70 per cent of 바카라사이트 Haredi students in all fields were women.

¡°Some people in some of our universities would ra바카라사이트r condemn those Haredim that want to work to only manual jobs than offer 바카라사이트m a decent education and hence 바카라사이트 prospect of good jobs, at 바카라사이트 price of teaching 바카라사이트m in classes that are separated by gender, thus respecting 바카라사이트ir preferences,¡± he said.

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@tsleducation.com