The Knesset Education Committee approved Monday for its second and third readings a bill proposed by MK Limor Son Har-Melech of Otzma Yehudit that would allow gender-segregated studies in advanced university degree programs, in a move intended to bypass a High Court of Justice ruling. According to the bill, the proposal would not require all academic institutions to hold gender-separated classes, but would allow them to do so when there is demand from students. The Finance Ministry said the bill would not impose any additional budgetary cost on the state.
In a 2021 ruling, the High Court held that gender separation at students’ request could be allowed only in undergraduate studies. The court’s reasoning was that such programs could help Haredi women acquire higher education, even at the cost of gender inequality. It also made clear that the arrangement was limited to undergraduate degrees because the supply of gender-separated advanced degree programs was extremely limited and consisted mainly of academic degrees in education and teaching.
Son Har-Melech, who managed to advance the bill after a year and a half of lengthy discussions, argued that it would “promote women from sectors that until now have not received the advancement they deserve.” Opposition lawmakers strongly objected to the proposed legislation, arguing that it amounted to the exclusion of women. During votes on objections they submitted, opposition female lawmakers protested by holding signs reading “men” and “women,” placing them on opposite sides of the room and saying sarcastically: “If there is separation, let it be everywhere, including in Knesset committees.”
Opponents of the bill say expanding gender separation in academia could harm equality and deepen separation between women and men in public and academic spaces. Yael Yechieli, CEO of the 5050 initiative, said that “if the goal is partnership and integration of Haredi society, then we are in favor, but what is happening here is more autonomy for the Haredim, and that, as we know, does not lead to integration.” Naama Zarviv, CEO of the Shovrot Shivyon movement, rejected what she described as “imaginary fears of a slippery slope,” saying they are “patronizing voices that do not see the woman who really wants the degree.”
Academic representatives warned that the legislation would harm equality and the status of women in academia, could damage the quality of teaching and research, affect faculty employment and infringe on academic freedom in managing research and teaching groups. Prof. Michal Frenkel of the Association of Women Professors in Academia said: “Gender-separated studies are academically inferior.”
MK Yosef Taieb of Shas asked to expand the bill and allow separation in all areas of an academic institution, in cases involving separate institutions. “The legislator wants to set a different norm in this legislation, so that in separate institutions, separation can also be established in additional places beyond classrooms,” Taieb said. “Of course, this does not mean that an air-conditioning technician or lecturer would be unable to enter the separate institution.”
Justice Ministry representative Liron Banit Sasson opposed Taieb’s broad interpretation, saying it moved “very far away from the required balances, including the harm to equality,” and was contrary to Council for Higher Education policy and the High Court ruling. Eran Holitz of the Education Ministry’s legal department said in response that “the minister’s position is that the interpretation of the section should be broad.”
Ronen Kutin, a representative of the Council for Higher Education, said there was “no separate institution today,” only separate campuses within mixed institutions, and even there, no separation in public spaces. He asked whether the law expected the council to require separation signs in libraries and cafeterias, adding: “Do you expect that instead of dealing with excellence, we will deal with the small nuances of what is permitted in the public space and what is not?”
(Photo: Yaron Brenner)
Kutin said that in the 2024-2025 academic year, there were 19,000 graduates of the Haredi education system in academia, two-thirds of them women. Citing the Central Bureau of Statistics, he added that former members of Haredi society are significantly underrepresented in academia, at only 13%, compared with 46% among the general population, because of many economic, social and cultural barriers and not only because of separate studies.
Oshra Danuch, a Haredi woman who took part in the discussions, supported the proposed legislation. “This law is real news for the State of Israel,” she said. “All the attempts to restrict our steps and make us give up our values will not work.” Roy Assaf, head of the government authority for the economic and social development of the Haredi sector in the Prime Minister’s Office, also expressed support, saying the bill would “increase the earning capacity of Haredi women and open doors for them.”
The explanatory notes to the bill emphasized several times that its purpose is not discriminatory and that the arrangement should not be viewed as an act of discrimination. They also stressed that the proposed arrangement would not detract from the Equal Employment Opportunities Law, which prohibits employers from discriminating between employees on the basis of gender.
The Committee of University Heads warned Sunday against expanding gender separation in academia, sending an urgent letter to the Knesset that said the move could create “second-class degrees for women and an enormous budgetary burden.” The university presidents demanded a special discussion following what they described as a last-minute attempt to expand the law on separate tracks to include undergraduate studies and public spaces on campuses, such as laboratories, libraries and cafeterias. “Applying separation in this format will lead to gaps in academic standards, severely harm research and damage the quality of training in therapeutic professions in Israel,” the letter said.