Israeli school to its student: If you sing in front of men, you’re gone

Ministry of Education supports the position of the school: OK to prohibit students from participating in activities against Jewish law

14/12/2011 14:50

Tags: Ministry of Education · Freedom of choice · Kol Isha

High school students perform. Photographer--Ron Deri, Flickr

A 16 year old female student at a religious school in the south of Israel planned to perform in a young talent competition at the end of the month; she is seen as one of the most promising candidates.

In a story published by Channel 2 News, when the school board discovered she would be singing before a mixed audience of both men and women, they gave her a choice: leave the competition or leave the school. She decided she had no choice but to give up her dream.

They told me I could reach my full potential, but in an appropriate way, not through doing something that is forbidden. They kept telling me that I need to put more emphasis on school.

“They told me I could reach my full potential, but in an appropriate way, not through doing something that is forbidden. They kept telling me that I need to put more emphasis on school.”

The school is not part of the independent ultra-Orthodox school system, but rather is part of the public Ministry of Education. According to the Ministry, the school’s rules expressly forbid students to participate in activities contrary to Jewish law, such as singing in front of men.

See the article from Mako in Hebrew here