Britain's Supreme Court Rules London Jewish School's Admission Policy Discriminatory

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reports today Britain's Supreme Court has ruled that a Jewish school in London discriminated against a child denied entrance, because his mother was not recognized as Jewish.

An appeals court had ruled earlier in favor of the 12-year-old boy, who claimed that the Jewish Free School's rejection of his application was discriminatory.

The boy's father is Jewish and his mother converted to Judaism, but not through an Orthodox synagogue. The school rejected his application because he is not considered Jewish, according to the office of the Chief Rabbi.

In its 5-4 ruling today, the Supreme Court said the school's admission criteria are discriminatory on the grounds of ethnicity. The ruling means that Jewish schools in Britain can no longer base their admission on whether a child is Jewish according to the Orthodox tradition.