Politics21:00 · 10h ago

Research Showing No Justification for Gender-Segregated Graduate Studies in Haredi Community Remains Unpublished

YnetCenter

Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba

Key points

01Knesset to vote on bill allowing gender-segregated advanced degrees despite Supreme Court ruling.
02Council for Higher Education commissioned study finds no professional or demand justification for segregation.
03Study shows mixed-gender learning benefits therapeutic professions and is preferred by Haredi students.
04Education Minister Yoav Kish, CHE chair, repeatedly postponed discussing the study's findings.
05Deputy CHE chair Prof. Dudi Schwartz, linked to private colleges promoting segregation, supports bill.
06CHE officially states study not yet reviewed or published despite being submitted in December 2024.

In this story

People

Limor Son Har-Melech, Yoav Kish, Dudi Schwartz

OrganizationsCouncil for Higher Education, Knesset, Ono Academic College, Supreme Court

PlacesIsrael, Haredi community

The story · English

The Israeli Knesset is set to vote next week on a bill proposed by MK Limor Son Har-Melech of Otzma Yehudit, which aims to override a Supreme Court ruling and permit gender-segregated studies in advanced university degrees. However, a comprehensive study commissioned by the Council for Higher Education (CHE) on this issue has never been presented or discussed in professional forums.

The CHE ordered the research to assess the value and demand for gender-segregated second degrees in therapeutic fields such as psychology and art therapy for the Haredi population. Submitted in December 2024, the study found significant professional benefits in mixed-gender learning environments and highlighted potential harm caused by segregation in therapeutic professions. It also revealed that the target Haredi audience actually favors integrated studies, contradicting the main argument supporting segregation.

Despite these findings, Education Minister Yoav Kish, who also chairs the CHE, repeatedly postponed discussions of the report. The study has not been presented to the CHE or the Knesset Education Committee, which is debating the controversial legislation. Sources suggest the minister and his deputy, Professor Dudi Schwartz, deliberately avoided the topic because the results did not align with their agenda. Schwartz, a representative of private colleges and a rector at Ono Academic College, a key promoter of segregated studies, was appointed deputy chair of the CHE amid opposition from university leaders.

The CHE officially acknowledged commissioning the research but stated the findings have not yet been reviewed or published. The ministry emphasized its commitment to integrating the Haredi population into higher education and employment but has not made a decision on opening gender-segregated advanced therapeutic degrees. The full story will be published in a weekend supplement.

Summary: A study commissioned by Israel's Council for Higher Education found no professional or demand-based justification for gender-segregated graduate therapeutic degrees in the Haredi community, but the report has been withheld from public and official discussion ahead of a Knesset vote on related legislation.

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