Racial segregation in Emmanuel
15 years ago, there was an incident where Ashkenazi and Sephardic girls were separated in a Haredi school in Emanuel. The Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal and put the principals in prison. On the one hand, segregation on the basis of race sounds like a pretty bad thing (reminds me of things from South Africa). On the other hand, anyone who knows Haredi society knows that there is a clear separation between Ashkenazi and Sephardic girls, in rabbinical customs, in the way they study, etc. The question is whether, because it is the Haredi tradition and there is some logic to it, it should be respected. Or should the state really intervene and say that there are things that are a red line.
I think that as long as the school is privately funded and not from public money – they have the right to act as they see fit. With public money, there is room for dictates.
As a rule, such claims should be examined grammatically. It is very easy to hide racism or discrimination behind a veil. But sometimes it is a genuine and honest argument.
Beyond that, sometimes the public or the institution, out of inertia, is certain that it is right, but in reality it is not right and it is just a mental fixation. In such a situation, there is definitely room to shake them up.
Beyond that, if the distinction is based on origin, it is problematic. If the distinction is based on relevant criteria, and the result comes out with a correlation to origin, it may be fine. The bottom line is that there are people from problematic origins who are still accepted because they meet the relevant criteria.
I have previously written about this case, where I discussed the various arguments. See columns 445 and 233.
This reminds me of...
Decades ago, a reporter from a Tel Aviv local came to the principal (not the head of the yeshiva) of the New Yeshiva (located in Tel Aviv) and asked him: Why is there racism in your institution?
The principal replied: We don't have any racism.
The reporter asked: I compare the names of the students at your school with the names at the other high schools in Tel Aviv, and there are hardly any Sephardim there.
The principal at Kahai Yishna answered him: There is no racism, it's just that our entrance exams are at a high level, so the Sephardim don't manage to get in.
Are you trying to prove from this that there was racism there? A very common claim, and the confidence that is reflected in the mere quoting of the story shows that readers are supposed to see it as an obvious joke. But when you think about it again, you see that there is no proof of racism from this:
1. It is certainly possible and even probable that he is right. Mizrahi will pass fewer high-level Torah exams. This does not necessarily assume stupidity inherent in the Mizrahi race, but rather a different upbringing and a different atmosphere at home and a different form of learning.
2. It is possible that he did not mean a high level in the intellectual sense but a high Torah level according to the current Haredi standard (television, secular society, language, etc.). Here too, the facts are probably statistically correct. See Turey on racism and the Emanuel case.
This does not mean that there is no racism. There certainly is. It just means that these are not proofs of it.
Eli – I studied in this yeshiva many years ago. In my class, 30 percent of the students were Sephardim. At the end of the day, the yeshiva is very Ashkenazi in character (Limog, prayers, etc.) so it makes sense that they would accept Sephardim in order to maintain the character. Indeed, the yeshiva's elite (the students) had considerable arrogance and disdain for the Mizrahi, and it's a shame!
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