Israel

Knesset approves law allowing gender separation in graduate studies

Israeli higher education institutions oppose the law, according to the Broadcasting Authority..

Abdel Ra'ouf D. A. R. Arnaout

16 July 2026•Update: 16 July 2026

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Jerusalem / Anadolu

The Israeli Knesset approved on Thursday a law allowing gender separation in graduate study programs, despite widespread opposition from the country's higher education institutions.

The Israeli Knesset said in a statement: 'The Knesset plenum approved in second and third readings the Student Rights Bill (Amendment No. 12) for 2026, submitted by MK Limor Son Har Melech (from the Jewish Power party, led by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir), thus finalizing the law.'

The statement added: '52 MKs supported the bill, while 43 opposed it.'

The Knesset noted that the law 'provides for an amendment to the Student Rights Law, allowing higher education institutions to offer separate study tracks by gender for advanced academic degrees, provided that the separation within the separate tracks in mixed-gender institutions is limited to classrooms and is also limited to female and male students who wish it.'

According to the statement, the explanation and interpretation of the law state that 'the Council for Higher Education currently allows higher education institutions to offer separate study tracks for males and females, generally limited to bachelor's degree programs, subject to specific terms and restrictions set by the council.'

It added: 'The law clarifies the legislative text, so that it explicitly states that the ruling that separate study tracks for males and females based on religious grounds do not constitute discrimination also applies to master's and doctoral programs.'

The Knesset continued: 'This measure aims to enable individuals who refrain from participating in mixed academic studies due to their religious beliefs to pursue advanced academic degrees in a broader range of fields.'

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said: 'The law was passed despite widespread opposition from Israeli higher education institutions, which warned of its repercussions on the quality of academic education, particularly in the fields of medicine and health professions.'

It added that opposition MKs raised banners during the plenum voting session that read: 'Separation is exclusion.'

It noted that the deans of all medical schools in Israel sent a letter to Knesset members warning that implementation of the law could negatively impact medical education.

The deans considered that the law could affect the level of academic qualification and professional training, and undermine the international standing of Israeli higher education institutions, according to the Broadcasting Authority.

The authority added that the deans warned that adopting gender separation in medical training programs could affect the opportunities of Israeli doctors to join specialization programs in leading hospitals abroad, which could affect the quality and availability of medical personnel in the future.

Earlier, the municipality of the city of Bnei Brak in central Israel, at the direction of the city's rabbis, decided to separate men and women on the sidewalks of several main streets, a step that sparked widespread controversy within Israel, according to what private Channel 13 reported on Monday evening.

The channel pointed out that the decision contradicts previous rulings issued by the Israeli Supreme Court, which in the past prohibited placing signs for gender separation in public places.