Current sectionOpinionShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeThe bill promoted by the Education Committee is part of the judicial overhaul: it uproots liberal norms and replaces them with sectarian values. Haredi and religious leaders are seeking to use state law to separate people and deepen Israel's divisions11:19 PM • July 09 2026 IDTThe Students' Rights Law stipulates that an institution of higher education may not discriminate against candidates or students based on their group affiliation: It is forbidden to discriminate on ethnic grounds, on the basis of a person's country of origin or that of their parents, socioeconomic background, religion, nationality, sex or place of residence. Indeed, in the third decade of the 21st century, one might have expected the law to stipulate that discrimination is also prohibited on the basis of sexual orientation or self-definition. But despite these and other flaws, the prohibition of discrimination perfectly embodies the most basic liberal principle: Every person is entitled to exist in the public sphere – and certainly in a space intended to provide education – free from group affiliations. In the NewsAndy Burnham Apologizes for U.K. Labour Party's Response to Israel's War in GazaIsrael Cut Hours at Palestinians' Only Exit Crossing, Fueling Black Market'Not Letting Us Work': Shin Bet Chief Clashes With Agency's Legal DepartmentPoll: In Election-season First, ex-IDF Chief Eisenkot Exceeds Netanyahu's LikudKnesset Committee Advances Law Enshrining Torah Studies as a 'Fundamental Value'Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIThe 'Special Relationship' Is Gone, and Israel Isn't Ready for What's ComingDumber Than a 10-year-old: Are Israeli Students Really That Stupid?An Israeli Principal Desegregated a Tel Aviv School. Here's What HappenedAs Israel Lacks Hundreds of Patrol Officers, West Bank Staff DoublesIsraeli Cop Filmed Throwing Stun Grenade Into Car, Trapping Palestinians InsideMade in Kurdistan, Smuggled via Jordan: The Mysterious Firearms Flooding Israel