12 February 2008
A leading Jewish school in England has been accused of racial discrimination after it refused to accept a girl whose mother was a convert to the religion, according to 'The Times' newspaper. The girl's parents are reportedly taking legal action against the JFS (formerly the 'Jewish Free School') for rejecting their daughter's application. The girl's father is an Orthodox Jew and her mother, who is the school's head of English, converted to Judaism more than 20 years ago. But the Office of the Chief Rabbi did not recognize the conversion and has refused to accept that the child is Jewish. The couple claim that the school's admissions code breaches race laws, because it favors children with Jewish-born mothers. JFS is one of the country's oldest Jewish schools and the largest Orthodox Jewish school in Europe, with 2,000 students.
