British Supreme Court finds Jewish school in breach of race relations laws

17 December 2009

The UK’s Supreme Court has found a Jewish school guilty of racial discrimination for refusing places to students it does not consider to be Jewish according to the principles established by Britain's chief rabbi. Nine justices ruled by a small majority that the renowned Jewish Free School (JFS) in London had breached race relations legislation. The case was brought by a Jewish man whose son was not given a place because his wife was not regarded as Jewish.

Supreme Court President Lord Philips said: "The majority of the court has concluded that the JFS admission policy does discriminate on the grounds of ethnic origin and is, in consequence, unlawful. A minority disagrees, considering that the admission requirement is exclusively a religious requirement and does not depend on ethnic origin." Philips stressed that while the school had acted unlawfully over its admissions, it should not be regarded as racist.

The ruling puts in doubt the power of faith schools to select their students along religious lines, and some commentators remarked that this was the first time the state has become involved in defining who is Jewish and who is not.