Five Members Resign from Israel's Council for Higher Education Over Gender Separation Law

Five members of Israel's Council for Higher Education (CHE) resigned in protest against a new law permitting gender-segregated study tracks in higher education, including advanced degrees. The resigning members are Professors Ariel Porat, Marcel Makhlof, Jihad Al-Sana, Leah Lior, and Moshe Wigdor. They argue that the law represents an unprecedented interference with the council's independence. However, a senior CHE official condemned the resignations as a politically motivated attempt to paralyze the council and create a false crisis in academia. The official emphasized that the law, proposed by Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, does not impose segregation but allows those who wish to study separately to do so, thereby increasing accessibility and integrating additional populations into the workforce.

The senior official also noted that the five resigning members have historically opposed reforms aimed at strengthening higher education institutions, particularly in peripheral regions, including expanding colleges' authority to grant applied doctorates and appoint professors. Student union leaders have called for the law's implementation, stressing that true accessibility requires freedom of choice for all students.

Following the mass resignations, CHE Chair and Education Minister Yoav Kish plan to submit new appointments for government approval soon. Among the candidates is Professor Moshe Cohen-Eliya, a constitutional law professor and former president of the Academic Center for Law and Business in Ramat Gan. The appointments will follow consultations with university heads, and the council is expected to resume full operations shortly.