The Knesset asked the High Court of Justice on Tuesday to remove two petitions against the law expanding gender-segregated academic studies from its docket, arguing that the challenges should not proceed until the Council for Higher Education decides how the legislation will be implemented.
The request follows a preliminary response from the council and its Planning and Budgeting Committee, seeking dismissal of the petitions as premature. The council said the law had not changed its existing policy or authorized new segregated postgraduate programs, and that institutions must continue operating under their existing approvals.
The attorney-general, however, has asked the court to schedule a hearing and allow her to submit a preliminary response 21 days beforehand, once the council’s position can be considered.
The dispute concerns a July amendment to the Student Rights Law that expressly extends the exception permitting separate studies for religious reasons to master’s and doctoral degrees.
Sponsored by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, the legislation passed by 52 votes to 43. Supporters say it removes barriers for religious students who would otherwise forgo advanced studies.
At mixed institutions, the amendment limits separation to classrooms. That express restriction does not apply to institutions designated as separate. The petitioners argue that the law dismantles safeguards intended to prevent a limited accommodation for haredi (ultra-Orthodox) students from becoming a broader system of exclusion.
Petitions seek laws annulment or interpretation preserving restrictions on gender segregation
One petition was brought by six haredi women and 10 academics, led by law professor Yofi Tirosh. The other was filed by the Israel Women’s Network, the Israel Religious Action Center, and Na’amat. They seek the law’s annulment or an interpretation preserving restrictions on gender segregation.
In its Tuesday submission, the Knesset argued that the petitioners would have to amend their cases once the council adopts its policy. Scheduling a hearing now, without knowing when that work will conclude, could force all sides to address a changed set of facts at short notice, it said.
The Knesset argued that removing the petitions while preserving the right to challenge the eventual arrangements would not harm the petitioners or the public interest they represent because the council was not yet approving programs under the new framework anyway.
The council drew a distinction between legislation permitting segregated postgraduate studies and a decision actually authorizing them. The amendment does not require it to approve any particular program, it said, and leaves it responsible for setting conditions and protecting equality.
Without knowing what those conditions will be, the court cannot fully assess the alleged harm, or whether it can be justified, the council argued. It also said the petitioners had not approached it before filing their challenges.
The attorney-general’s application took a different procedural approach: keeping the petitions moving toward a hearing while allowing time to consider the council’s interpretation. Both groups of petitioners agreed to that request on condition that a hearing be scheduled as soon as possible.
The underlying dispute builds on a 2021 High Court ruling that upheld a restricted framework for segregated studies while prohibiting discrimination against women lecturers. The existing policy generally limits segregation to undergraduate programs for graduates of haredi education and to classrooms, although some older segregated master’s programs were allowed to continue.
The petitioners have argued that even those restrictions were inadequately enforced, with women excluded from teaching men and separation spreading into shared campus spaces.
The council disputed that account and supplied new figures on teaching staff. Of 93 existing programs operating in the 2025-26 academic year, 78 reported gender diversity among their lecturers, it said. The remaining 15 were required to demonstrate such diversity before opening for 2026-27 and subsequently updated their teaching teams.
According to reports received from institutions, all the designated programs operating this academic year now have both male and female lecturers, the council said. Separately, the council said women taught in men’s tracks in various formats at most institutions, some with in-person teaching.
Afik in Academia, a forum of women professors submitting a friend-of-the-court position paper, warned that extending segregation into advanced degrees would harm women’s employment opportunities, research, and academic standards. It supported greater haredi participation but proposed scholarships, preparatory studies, and mentoring within existing academic frameworks instead of expanded separation.
The law also prompted five council members to resign in July, warning of damage to equality and academic independence.
The council said a steering committee first discussed the amendment on October 6 and scheduled another discussion for Tuesday. Its recommendations must then proceed through the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the council.
Even a policy change would not automatically authorize new programs, which would require individual approval, it added.