Knesset Committee Approves Gender Segregation Expansion in Higher Education for Advanced Degrees

The Knesset Education Committee approved the bill to extend gender segregation in academia to include advanced degree programs. Under the proposed law, higher education institutions, with the approval of the Council for Higher Education, will be allowed to offer separate study tracks for men and women in graduate programs for those who desire it. The approval came during a session on Monday, which ended in a heated confrontation between ultra-Orthodox Knesset members and opposition female lawmakers.

Following the committee's decision, opposition MK Adi Azuz condemned the bill, stating, "The government continues to lead Israel to dark places, deliberately harming women's rights. This law is a stain on Israel's legal code and belongs in the dustbin of history." Professor Yofi Tirosh from Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law also criticized the move, saying, "The Israeli government is deliberately erasing women from the public sphere, severely violating our fundamental rights and dragging Israel into dark periods we have never experienced before."