Five members of top higher education authority quit over new gender segregation law

Five members of Israel's Council for Higher Education resigned on Monday in protest of a new law expanding gender segregation in higher education. The law, backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious coalition, permits universities and colleges to offer segregated master’s and doctoral degree programs, subject to council approval. The resigning members, including Marcelle Machluf, Jihad El-Sana, Lia Laor, Edit Tshuva, and Moshe Vigdor, stated the law is an “unprecedented intervention in the independence of the council” and harms “academic freedom, equality, excellence and pluralism.” They argued that continuing to serve would “legitimize moves that contradict the values ​​for which we were asked to serve.” The legislation extends a 2021 High Court ruling that permitted limited gender-segregated undergraduate programs for ultra-Orthodox students, now making it available to all students and advanced degrees. Critics, including opposition lawmakers and academic leaders, contend the law prioritizes religious strictures over equality and academic quality.