Washington – The 30% minority Sephardic population of Modi’in Illit, an Israeli settlement town in the West Bank, have accused the settlement's political and religious leadership of blatant racism, giving favor instead to Ashkenazim, Ynet News reported Wednesday.

"We feel degraded and outcast,” said one Sephardi girl. The largest obstacle to the minority Jewish community has come from Ashkenazi-dominated religious schools that deny or delay admission for Sephardic students, residents say.

"I already gave up on getting my daughter into a seminary here," said one Sephardic father. "She underwent an intense investigation of her knowledge and her way of life, while her Ashkenazi friend was only asked who her relatives are and that was it."

While the town is comprised of nearly a third Sephardic Jews, only five seminaries for Sephardim exist, yet there are some 30 seminaries dominated by Ashkenazi rabbis. Sephardi residents also complain that the Ashkenazi schools are all better funded, while the Sephardi religious students study in trailers, waiting for permanent buildings for more than 10 years now.

Sephardic Jews trace their heritage back to the Iberian Peninsula, while Ashkenazim descend from central Europe. The term Mizrahi refers to Jews who trace their roots to the MENA region and the Caucasus; they have also accused Ashkenazi Jews of repeated discrimination against them.

Worried Sephardi residents of Modi'in Illit have appealed to Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush, but they have received no assistance, they say.

Yoni Mizrahi issued demands Tuesday on behalf of the town’s Sephardic residents: "Our demand is that a new seminary be opened in which girls can study without quotas or limits. The acceptance committee must be religious and not ethnic based. It is inconceivable that the girls are rejected outright just because they are Sephardic."

Claims of discrimination have also spread beyond just the schools. According to salary reports from various organizations, there is a wide pay gap between Sephardi rabbis and their Ashkenazi counterparts, who sometimes make six times more, Ynet reported.

Sephardi residents also say they face discrimination when moving to the town in the first place. Two years ago, a Sephardi couple whose application to move to the town was rejected filed claims of discrimination in court and won.

One selection committee member defended the city’s decisions: "This is how it is everywhere. Every group, even in secular neighborhoods, wants to maintain homogeny. It stems from a desire to maintain an equal level of religiosity, not from racism."

Senior Sephardi rabbis in the town took their complaints to Shas party head Eli Yishai in a letter three months ago. "There is serious discrimination," they wrote. "There is an unfeeling double standard between blood. We ask that an end be put to the crushing and humiliation of the holy Sephardic community in Modi’in Illit." They have yet to receive a response.

Shas is a conservative religious party in Israel, representing mainly the interests of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.

Upset residents have now threatened to take their concerns to the High Court if the Education Ministry does not step in.

The tensions in Modi’in Illit echo the ongoing controversy in Emmanuel, another West Bank settlement with a varied Jewish population. In mid-June, a number of ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazim were jailed for refusing to send their daughters to school with their Sephardic and Mizrahi counterparts. The religious school where the girls studied had previously been segregated.

As one Modi’in Illit resident bemoaned, "[j]ust like in Emmanuel, Shas just secures jobs and deals with the Ashkenazis and take care of their friends.”

Above: Two haredi girls in Israel. [WikiMedia]

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