A Jewish school in London that refused to admit a pupil whose mother was not born into the faith was found to breach race discrimination laws Wednesday in a ruling by the Supreme Court.
The nine justices dismissed an appeal by the state-funded JFS, formerly the Jewish Free School, against a ruling earlier this year that its admissions policy was unlawful because it was based on ethnic origins, not faith.
However, Britain's highest court acknowledged that the case, brought by the family of an 11-year-old boy last year, had raised questions about the law governing racial discrimination and its compatibility with orthodox Judaism.
The boy's father is Jewish by birth but his mother is Jewish by conversion, conducted at a progressive synagogue not recognised by the orthodox faith. In Judaism, a child's identity is inherited through their mother.
The Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of the boy earlier this year, finding that the schools' entry criteria racially discriminated against him, and the Supreme Court upheld this ruling.
But they said it might be arguable that there should be a special exemption under racial discrimination legislation to allow Jewish faith schools to bar children not regarded as Jewish by many of the established Jewish movements.
"This demonstrates that there may well be a defect in our law of discrimination," said Lord Nicholas Phillips, president of the court.
The school said it was "naturally disappointed" by the ruling and would now try to establish "a more workable solution" for its admissions test.
Copyright 2009 AFP European Edition
