School was right to ban ‘non-Jew’

[TriWooOx]

Quote:A top Jewish school has been cleared in the High Court of racial discrimination over a pupil it refused to admit.

The JFS acted 'entirely legitimately' in turning down the boy of 11 because he was not an 'approved Jew', the judge ruled.

He said a decision against the school, previously called the Jews' Free School, would have had far-reaching consequences for 'a very large number' of faith schools.

The father of the boy, known in court only as M, had asked Mr Justice Munby to declare there had been racial discrimination.

He said it was appalling that the 11-year-old had been declared 'not Jewish enough'.

Jewish status is inherited maternally and the mother of M converted from Catholicism at a Progressive synagogue before his birth.

JFS's entry criteria gives preference to pupils whose Jewishness is confirmed by the Office of the Chief Rabbi, which does not recognise ceremonies at such synagogues.

Dinah Rose QC, for the family, claimed other children had been awarded places even if they were 'committed atheists'.

However, the judge said the school's entry policy was 'essential' to its legitimate aim of pursuing its Orthodox ethos.

The school, in Kenton, north-west London, is an oversubscribed, state-maintained school.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?i...p;in_page_id=34