Rabbis vs. High Court: The leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv called for protest measures against the Supreme Court following its ruling
in the matter of ethnic separation in the Beit Yaakov religious school in Emanuel.
In a meeting with Deputy Education Minister MK Meir Porush on Thursday, the rabbi said, "This is a dreadful ruling. This should prompt a great outcry."
| Ethnic Discrimination |
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| Closure order against school for Ashkenazi girls only / Yaheli Moran Zelikovich |
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74 Ashkenazi girls studying on separate 'temporary' premises in Emmanuel after parents refused to allow them to study with Sephardi girls |
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The ultra-Orthodox public is furious with Judges Edmond Levy, Edna Arbel and Hanan Melcer, who fined the school and issued a contempt of court ruling against it and also subpoenaed the parents of Ashkenazi students who stopped sending their children to the school.
Meanwhile, the Kol Hacharedi news hotline reported that the Slonimer rebbe ordered his followers who live in Emanuel not to abide by the court ruling, despite the threat of imprisonment.
"I am willing to be the first to sit in prison over this issue," he said, and compared it to the situation in which "Jews sat in Russian prisons over their children's education."
He further declared his intention to attend the session on the children's parents slated to take place at the High Court at the end of the month.
The High Court of Justice on Wednesday issued a contempt of court ruling against the Independent Education Center, which is responsible for operating ultra-Orthodox schools, due to its failure to force Ashkenazi students in the Beit Yaakov school for girls in Emmanuel to attend classes.
By failing to do so, the court said, the Center "helped violate an order to remove any sign of discrimination which prevailed in the school."
The court ordered the Independent Education Center to pay NIS 5,000 (about $1,353) for each day it avoids implementing the verdict.
The judges also ruled that the parent of each Ashkenazi student who has stopped showing up for classes after the verdict would be subpoenaed to a court hearing at the end of April, where they would be required to explain their actions and might be accused of contempt of court – a move which may lead to arrests or fines. The parents will also be required to explain where their daughters have been studying since their strike began.
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