Only other people can't be racist. If you are a jew then you can defend yourself by calling the other person Anti-Semite .

this is nothing new.

This has nothing to do with race. It's very inappropriate to use that word with such careless abandon - it's sloppy thinking & does nothing to illuminate the problem. That said, it is undeniable that we have a problem within the Jewish community defining who is Jewish. Talk to ten Jews & you will get 20 opinions (if not more). In this particular case, the strict interpretation is, in my opinion, ultimately self-defeating. And, it is punishing the child by denying him a Jewish education.

and what about those Russians which has no idea about Judism and you took them to Israel and most escaped to the USA after ..... Judism a la carte .

should be open for everyone who wants to follow this kind of education. Background is not really important.

It seems quite clear that the people in charge of this organization have absolutely no kavanah when they "pray" (or should I say read really fast) Aleinu. In stead of being the light unto the nations they turn people off to Judaism.

I cannot believe your ignorance. Jewish schools should admit Jewish people. My girlfriend went to this school and I can assure you that Jewish schools are ones of tolerance and open-mindedness. There is not enough space to let everyone in, so they must choose JEWS... and it IS about background, not just about whether one claims to believe in a certain dogma. We Jews are much more substantial than that and choose to pass our tradition to those who are close to us. This is not about the holocaust, this is about thousands of years of tradition and this is (hopefully) the way it will always be. It is the only reason we are still here and the reason you will not be.

who has the nerve to call racist the most basic Jewish law A non Jew has non right to force himself in a Jewish school. Neither a Jew cannot force himself at some other religious nomination school. And this is not racism in neither direction. Sorry to disapoint Ynet and other readers, but teaching for 17 years at Jewish institution or having a non orthodox convertion does not make you Jewish.

This is not new. It is a common story in many orthodox Jewish schools around the world. Each school has it's set of principles re.enrolments, whether you agree or disagree, they are facts. Everyone has an opinion on this but it is up to the parents to decide whether to send their child to a school with these principles or not. Please explain how this case ended up in the High Court?

How comes the mother converted to Judaism but is not recognised by the chief rabbi? What is this? If she converted, then she is Jewish. Nekuda! Or are there people, who are more Jewish than other ones? And the chief rabbi is the only one who can decide? This is not racism. But this is a case of stupid discrimination. If there wouldn't be enugh free spots and they would say "halachic Jews first", it qould be something different, but this doesn't seem to be the problem.

They might be many things, but the argument of racism seems pretty shaky. This is a issue of religion not race. No one is looking at the color of their skin.

but try to explain this to a british high court . For them , conversion is conversion , recognised or not . Otherwise it's racism for them .

Orthodox Judaism does NOT have the throne of Judaism, they are not the litmus test, and they are NOT the final say and how dare anyone ever remind someone who is a convert that they are a convert which is in direct contradiction of Jewish law.

"priority is given to children whose mothers were born Jewish." You must respect the convert. If someone would convert through the chief rabbi's office, apprently, they would get the same treatment. Giving priority to children of non-converts first is against halahka!

I would much prefer it if Orthodox simply banned all conversions and admitted that the arbitrary standards they apply are merely to keep as many people as possible out. I would also like to see Israel tear up the Law of Ingathering since that's become at least as arbitrary. You know it's not as if people are knocking down doors to BE Jewish. so...good luck with that.

It seems that, these days, whenever anybody want to make an accusation using emotionally-laden terminology, the word "racism" seems to be the one of choice...regardless of how inaccurate it may be.

She converted with a non-Orthodox group, such as Conservative or Reform. Meaning she's not "Jewish. Nekuda!" She's Jewish according to some standards, but not according to the halachic standards used by the British Rabbinate.

the mother probably went to a rabbi one day and said, "hi, i want to be a jew" and the rabbi tapped her on the head and said, "I knight thee a Jewess" and the ceremony was over. I have a feeling it was nothing like a kosher conversion

According to halakha, a Cohen is not supposed to marry a converted woman, whether her conversion met Orth. standards or not. A halakhic conversion can't be retroactively annuled if it met halakhic standards even if the convert later leads a non-Orthodox lifestyle unless it can be shown that the convert was not sincere at the time of conversion- her willingness to marry a Cohen, in this case is taken as proof that her intent to lead a religious Jewish life was never sincere-thus the conversion was never valid in the 1st place. That's my understanding of the logic of this case.

That is really going to encourage the mother to convert 'properly!' How terrible for that child!! What is the matter with them - at the school??? Here is a family that wants to live a Jewish life, tries to put their kid into a Jewish school but gets rejected cause the conversion wasn't kosher enough!!

The issue is that we have perfectly kosher orthodox beit dinim rejecting eachothers conversions. Israel rejects every beit din outside their borders conversions (at this point), england is extremely picky and ignores many kosher beit dinim's conversions, and in the US it depends on which orthodox beit din and community you are dealing with. It also varies in other countries. We need some sort of international orthodox conversion treaty in which the signatories all agree "X must occur" and we will abide by eachothers decisions. Otherwise we're back to the bad old early medieval days before we all worked out of one code of law and refused to marry eachothers daughters.

this artical more likely first reported by the BBC in which case the word racism was just a slip of the tongue nothing to get upset about

The word "racist" in the headline here is very incorrect and inapplicable. It is an interpretation of Jewish law - not an issue of racism !

All of these contorted attempts to distinguish between "religion" and "racism" are a transparent shell game. Overshadowing the whole conversion squabble is the plain fact that preference is being given to the genetic -- i.e., racial -- offspring of Jewish females. This leads to paradoxical situations. I, for example, profess no religion whatsoever, and yet -- thanks to my mother -- I am racially Jewish. I am, as we say, a Member of the Tribe. Happy as I am with this heritage, I would never wish to receive favorable discrimination on this basis alone, particularly from an institution in a democratic state which should be blind to racial distinctions. Objectively viewed, all matrilineal societies are racist in that they are founded on undeniable genetic continuity.. This is simply a quaint anthropological reality and should not be troubling as long as its ideological consequences -- including discrimination -- do not impinge on the civil rights of the greater community.

conversion so the school can let the student in. All Ruth in the Bible who was a Moabitess had to say to become Jewish was that her dead husband mother-in-law's people would be her people, their law and land would be her law and land. That was sufficient a conversion for the rich farmer Boaz to marry Ruth without being condemned for marrying a foreigner. Ruth was in the lineage of King David. Ruth and Boaz begat Obed who begat Jesse who begat David. There are so many traditions and commandments of men in the Jewish religion that people who want to convert are harassed and turned away, as if the Jews don't need all the converts they can get with as many enemies as they have.

Who cares anyway-in only a few years time there will be either very small pockets of extremely orthodox Jews or virtual nothing at all. In other words this is a storm in a tea cup and of utterly zero importance.

with due respect,yes,we jews should be as homogenious as can be,our forefathers in spain,poland and whereever the catholic inquisition was ruling were proud to be burn at the stake to preserve their jewishness,no,i wouldnt want my kids to attend jewish private school with non jews kids,let them attend their own schools sorry.if you call it racist,i am a proud racist.