Lead

The Knesset voted 52-43 in the early hours of Thursday to approve an amendment to the Student Rights Law, allowing higher education institutions to offer gender-segregated graduate degree programs. The legislation, sponsored by MK Limor Son Har-Melech of Otzma Yehudit, expands the existing framework that had permitted separate programs only in limited circumstances.

Within days, the law drew sharp reactions. Five members of the Council for Higher Education (CHE) resigned in protest, and six haredi women along with ten academics petitioned the High Court of Justice to strike down or sharply restrict the new provisions.

Coverage Comparison

The Jerusalem Post reported the story across several articles, each focusing on a different stage of the legislative and legal battle.

One report covered the committee vote, where the bill passed its second and third readings at the Knesset's Education, Culture and Sports Committee on July 6, 2026, before heading to the plenum. That article emphasized supporters' arguments that the bill restores freedom of choice, quoting MK Har-Melech: "Today we took a significant step toward correcting an injustice that has persisted for years."

A second report detailed the Knesset vote itself, held in the early hours of July 16, 2026. It described opposition lawmakers holding up signs reading "Segregation is exclusion," and quoted MK Adi Ezuz of the Together Party, who called it "the most misogynistic government in Israel's history."

A third article focused on the resignations from the CHE, which came on July 20. Four members submitted a joint resignation letter to President Isaac Herzog and Education Minister Yoav Kisch, while a fifth, Moshe Vigdor, resigned separately.

A fourth piece covered the High Court petition filed on July 16, the same day as the Knesset vote, arguing that the amendment dismantles the safeguards the court relied on in its 2021 ruling.

The coverage presents contrasting perspectives: supporters frame the law as expanding religious freedom and choice, while critics—including the resigning council members and the petitioners—warn of threats to academic independence and women's equality.

Key Claims

  • The Knesset approved the amendment to the Student Rights Law in a 52-43 vote, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • Five members of the Council for Higher Education resigned in protest, including Hebrew University Prof. Edit Tshuva, Technion Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Ben-Gurion University Prof. Jihad El-Sana, Prof. Lia Laor, and Moshe Vigdor, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • Six haredi women and ten academics petitioned the High Court of Justice, arguing the amendment dismantles safeguards from the court's 2021 decision, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • The law allows the CHE to approve separate programs for men and women in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral studies, with classroom-level segregation for mixed institutions, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Perspectives

Supporters of the legislation: MK Limor Son Har-Melech and other backers argue that the law restores freedom of choice to academia and the public, correcting what they see as an injustice imposed by the Supreme Court. They contend that the previous ruling denied religious men and women the opportunity to pursue advanced degrees without compromising their faith.

CHE members who resigned: The five resigning members called the law "unprecedented interference" in the council's independence, warning it could lead to the exclusion of women from academia and harm academic freedom, equality, excellence, and pluralism.

Petitioners to the High Court: The haredi women and academics argued that the amendment removes the safeguards that made gender segregation constitutional in the 2021 ruling, potentially leading to separate and unequal education.

Opposition lawmakers: MK Adi Ezuz and others protested the legislation, calling it discriminatory and harmful to women's rights, with protests in the plenum and outside the Knesset by groups like Zazim Civil Action.