Regressive gender segregation law undermines Israel's medical education and equality, critics say

A recently passed Knesset law allowing universities and colleges to offer gender-segregated degree programs has sparked significant controversy in Israel, with critics labeling it a "regressive step" that undermines medical education and equality. Five members of Israel's Council for Higher Education have resigned in protest, warning of intensified exclusion of women in academia.

Prior to the law's passage, the deans of Israel's nine medical schools urged lawmakers to reject it, citing potential negative impacts on medical training, international accreditation standards, and overall public health. The law permits institutions to segregate degree programs, a move that has alarmed many within the academic and medical communities.

“

an unprecedented intervention

Professor David Katz, an emeritus professor of immunopathology at University College London with extensive experience in Israeli medical centers, expressed deep distress over the potential disruption to the natural scene of diversity within medical schools. He noted that Israel's medical research and innovation are highly respected internationally, with advanced methods in molecular and genetic analysis being considered groundbreaking.

Katz recalled his visits where he observed a highly skilled healthcare workforce composed largely of women, including observant Jews and Muslims. He also remembered open discussions with diverse groups of young medical students, a majority of whom were women, including Arab Israelis and religiously observant Jewish Israelis. He cautioned that introducing intrusive limitations on contact through gender segregation risks disrupting this established scene of diversity at the peril of the country's academic and medical standing.

“

we forget, at our peril, that it was just over 100 years since women have been allowed to train as doctors.