The Controversy Over Racial Discrimination in Haredi Schools – Kan 11 Reshet Bet – Binyamini and Guetta
This transcript was produced automatically using artificial intelligence. There may be inaccuracies in the transcribed content and in speaker identification.
🔗 Link to the original lecture
🔗 Link to the transcript on Sofer.AI
Table of Contents
- [0:00] Opening and presentation of the topic
- [1:32] Focusing on family roots instead of the child
- [2:43] The question of the teacher’s hatred toward Sephardim
- [3:56] The municipality determining the placement
- [5:07] Reading responses from Aryeh Deri
- [6:55] Closing and thanks
Summary
General overview
The broadcast raises an uproar over racist discrimination in Haredi educational institutions through the testimony of Michal Lankin, a mother who claims that her 14-year-old daughter is staying home and not going to school because the family is Sephardi. Michal describes a sorting process for seminaries that is done according to family lineage, place of prayer, and the father’s status, rather than according to the child herself. She speaks about her daughter’s pain, crying, and heartbreak, and about a sense of abandonment by the institutions and the authorities. She presents additional cases in the family of discrimination based on appearance and surname, and calls on public officials, especially Aryeh Deri, to provide answers and stop the harm being done to children and families.
The daughter’s absence and the institutions’ response
Michal says that her daughter did not go to school yesterday and not today either, and no one is calling and no one is asking. She states that the main reason is that the family is Sephardi, and that it hurts. She describes a situation in which her daughter is left outside the framework while her friends move on.
Relations between Ashkenazim and Sephardim at school and the connection to neighborhoods
Michal says that in the institution they study from first through eighth grade, and that there are problems there between Ashkenazim and Sephardim because the population is half and half. She notes that in her daughter’s class there are half Sephardim and half Ashkenazim, and that girls who are “more devout” from “Ramot Gimmel” do not come near “Ramot Bet.” She clarifies that Ramot Bet is a neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Registration for seminary and sorting by lineage and status
Michal says that when moving from eighth grade to ninth grade, a teacher comes and decides who goes to which seminary, mainly for the Ashkenazim, “if it suits her.” She says the criteria are whether the father is a kollel student or works, who the siblings are, who the grandfather is, and searching for roots “further and further back” instead of checking who the girl is, what her studies are, and what she wants to become. She says her daughter was a good girl with excellence certificates, “looks like one of them,” and even “looks really Ashkenazi,” and that there were no problems from first through eighth grade.
A change of decision after an earlier promise and accusations against the teacher
Michal says they registered for seminary already in seventh grade in order to “grab a spot,” and they were promised that their daughter would be there. She says that in the current year a teacher arrived whom she describes as someone who “hates Sephardim so much,” marked her daughter, and said, “No way, you’re not going there. I have my places, and according to my places that’s where you’ll go.” She describes that when they did not go along with her opinion, “suddenly we don’t exist.”
Questioning about surname and origin
Michal says the teacher dealt with the surname, wanted to distort it into a different surname, and she does not say the actual name. She describes how the teacher interrogated her about who her grandfather was and who her husband’s grandfather was, where her husband prays, and where he studied when he was a little boy, and that this went on “all the time” throughout the year. She frames it as an obsession with background and origin rather than with the child herself.
The child’s emotional state and turning to the municipality
Michal says the girl is “terribly broken,” and that yesterday at the municipality she “cried terribly” and does not understand what this injustice is about. She explains that the friends she was with for eight years are going to a certain place, while she, meanwhile, is not going with them, and she stresses that the Ashkenazi girls go together. She says that the Sephardi girls are directed “according to what the municipality decided” and not according to what is good for the child, and that “the municipality decides for us where to put our daughters,” when really it is determined “according to the teacher.”
Hiding her face and the distinction between cases involving boys and girls
Michal says she is not showing her face because “that’s what the lawyer wanted,” even though from the first day she wanted to show her face, and she is proud of herself, her path, and her children. She says she went through similar things with the boys, and that with the girls “they make a lot of noise about it.” She describes a boy who “looks dark” and knows Talmud by heart, to whom a rabbi said, “You look like a Frank, you don’t have your tzitzit tucked in,” and by contrast another boy “with blond hair and blue eyes” who “doesn’t know anything, actually,” but “they loved him and accepted him in first place.”
Changing a surname as a means of acceptance and the changing attitude toward identity
Michal says she had to change a surname so that three children would be accepted into Talmud Torah, “three tiny little kids.” She describes that when she came with a Sephardi surname they told her, “Go home,” and when she came with an Ashkenazi surname they told her, “Welcome, we have room.” She adds a similar description at the municipality: with the Sephardi name they told her, “Get out of here, we’ll stop you,” and when she said she was “half and half,” they chased after her to the elevator, hugged her, gave her a cup of water, and seated her.
A call to public officials and an appeal to spiritual values
Michal says, “This is not the way of Sarah Schenirer and this is not the way of Rabbi Ovadia,” and asks, “Where is restoring the crown to its former glory? Where is Tzvika Cohen? Where is Aryeh Deri?” She says her daughter sits and cries and is “a 14-year-old girl for no wrong of her own,” and that her daughter refused to change her surname because “everyone knows me by this name.” She claims that Aryeh Deri’s grandchildren are in Ashkenazi institutions and that his children studied in Ashkenazi places, and asks, “How long will Aryeh Deri go on destroying everyone’s homes?” She adds that afterward “they pray and ask why children go to the streets,” and that he “is giving them the option of going to the streets.”
End of the broadcast and a promise to continue following the story
The host says that perhaps they will direct these questions to Aryeh Deri “because he needs to give answers,” and Michal says she is waiting for him and wanted to come but “they didn’t let me in,” and that she wants his answers. The host concludes that the broadcast is ending, says that her words “come from the heart,” and hopes they will enter the hearts of the decision-makers, and declares that they will continue to follow the story. Michal thanks them, and the host closes with thanks and adds that they are proud of her and of her children.
Full Transcript
[Speaker A] We’re back on radio and television, we continue, and now to the storm over racist discrimination in Haredi schools. We say hello to Michal Lankin, a mother whose daughter is sitting at home through no fault of her own. Hello, Michal.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] Good afternoon.
[Speaker A] Your daughter didn’t go to school yesterday, not today either. Why?
[Speaker C] And this surely didn’t start yesterday.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] My daughter didn’t go yesterday or today, no one is calling, no one is asking. The main reason is because her family is a Sephardi family, and it hurts.
[Speaker C] Can you explain to us at all—come on, explain to us what grade she’s in, where this started?
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] With us they study from first grade to eighth grade. There are also problems there between Ashkenazim and Sephardim because we’re half and half. Her class is half Sephardi, half Ashkenazi. She didn’t have a lot of—meaning, she has Ashkenazi friends, but let’s say the more devout ones from Ramot Gimmel don’t come near Ramot Bet.
[Speaker A] Ramot Bet means in Jerusalem—you mean the neighborhood.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] Right, right. And she basically finished eighth grade, and when you finish eighth grade and go to ninth grade, a teacher comes and she decides whom she puts in seminary, for the Ashkenazim, if it suits her. According to what suits her? According to whether the father is a kollel student or whether the father works. And it matters to her who her siblings are, who her grandfather is. That’s how it works. They go back and back, searching the roots, and they don’t look for who the girl is, what her studies are, what she wants to become, why she wants to move forward. Who is my daughter at all? Michal, sorry for asking.
[Speaker C] So that’s it—between first grade and eighth grade, were there any problems with your daughter?
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] No, never in my life. I never heard anything. A good girl, I got excellence certificates, a lovely girl, she looks like one of them, she really looks Ashkenazi even though she’s half and half. But it doesn’t matter—she really looks like one of them, and they enjoyed her until eighth grade. And then in ninth grade what do they tell you there? No, no—eighth, eighth, we’re talking about eighth. Last year she was in eighth.
[Speaker C] Yes, but then in the middle of the year they have to register for seminary for ninth grade.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] So we registered in seventh grade because that’s what they told us to do—to grab a place. We went and registered, and they promised us that my daughter would be there. And this year a teacher came who hates Sephardim so much, and she marked her and said, “No way, you’re not going there. I have my places, and according to my places that’s where you’ll go.” That’s how we’re going to do it. And when we didn’t go along with her opinion, suddenly we don’t exist.
[Speaker A] What do you mean, a teacher who hates Sephardim?
[Speaker C] How do you know she hates Sephardim? Does she have that kind of record?
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] You can see it in her eyes. Talk to her and you’ll see for yourself.
[Speaker C] Give me an example of something she said to you.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] You see that with the surname—no, a surname that you want to twist into another surname—I can’t say the surname, but you see that she wants to make it sound Hebrew. And she really interrogated me: who my grandfather was, who my husband’s grandfather was, where my husband prays, where he studied when he was a little boy. Constantly, constantly questions. Interrogations, interrogations all year long.
[Speaker A] An obsession with background and origin rather than the child herself. What about the girl? What’s her mood like?
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] She’s terribly broken. Yesterday we were at the municipality and she cried terribly. She doesn’t understand what this injustice is about. She really doesn’t understand what’s going on here.
[Speaker C] Because basically what’s happening—
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] Now, this needs to be explained to the public, Michal—
[Speaker C] —is that all her friends she was with for eight years are going to a certain place, and meanwhile she’s not going with them.
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] The Ashkenazi girls, the Ashkenazi girls. The Sephardi girls go according to what the municipality decided, not what’s good for the child—according to what the municipality decided. The municipality decides for us where to put our daughters. The municipality basically decides according to the teacher. According to the teacher exactly.
[Speaker C] Now tell me honestly—I understand this, but it’s important to me that our listeners and viewers understand—why are you actually not showing your face?
[Rabbi Michael Abraham] Gladly. Because that’s what the lawyer wanted. From the very first day I wanted to show my face. I’m proud of myself, proud of my path, proud of my daughter, proud of my sons. I went through this with the boys, and I see that with the girls they make a lot of noise about it. I have a son who looks dark, but he’s an amazing boy and knows Talmud by heart. One of the rabbis came to him and said, “You look like a Frank, you don’t have your tzitzit tucked in.” And I have an amazing and wonderful son that I’m so proud of and love, with blond hair and blue eyes—he doesn’t know anything, true, but they loved him and accepted him in first place. How far will this discrimination go? How long will blond hair and dark eyes destroy children, destroy homes? I’m here to tell my children that I love them. And I’m proud of them. I really, truly am proud of them. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Where is Aryeh Deri, so he can come see that I don’t sleep at night? That it hurts me to hug every child? I had to change a surname so they would accept three children into Talmud Torah. Three tiny little children. To change their surname. When I came with a Sephardi surname they told me, “Go home.” When I came with an Ashkenazi surname they told me, “Welcome, we have room.” The same thing happened yesterday at the municipality. When I came with the Sephardi surname they told me, “Get out of here, we’ll stop you.” When I said, “I’m half and half,” they chased after me to the elevator, hugged me, gave me a cup of water. They let me in and gave me a seat. Until when? This is not the way of Sarah Schenirer and this is not the way of Rabbi Ovadia. It’s not, it’s not. Where is restoring the crown to its former glory? Where is Tzvika Cohen? Where is Aryeh Deri? My daughter is sitting and crying, a 14-year-old girl through no fault of her own. Because she didn’t want to change her surname—she told me, “Mommy, we’re not changing it, everyone knows me by this name.” It hurts me to see half my children with a Sephardi surname and half—
[Speaker A] —children with an Ashkenazi surname. It’s the same home, the same children that I gave birth to—
[Speaker C] —that I carried, that I raised. Where is Aryeh Deri to give me answers to these questions? His grandchildren are in Ashkenazi institutions, his children studied in Ashkenazi places. How long will Aryeh Deri go on destroying everyone’s homes?
[Speaker A] Afterward they pray and ask why children go to the streets—he’s giving them the option of going to the streets. Believe me. Okay, Michal, maybe we really will direct these questions to Aryeh Deri, because he needs to give answers. Sephardi, Ashkenazi. I’m waiting for him, I’m waiting for him, I wanted to come, they didn’t let me, I wanted to—Aryeh Deri—they didn’t let me in, I want his answers. We have to wrap up. There’s no doubt that your words come from the heart, and I hope these words enter the hearts of the decision-makers. Michal, our broadcast is simply coming to an end, and your words are really, really deeply moving, and we will continue to follow this story.
[Speaker C] Thank you, Michal, for being with us. Thank you very much—we’re also proud of you and of your boys and girls.
[Speaker A] Thank you very much, we’re signing off.