Gender-Segregated Higher Education Law Is a Step Backwards for Equality

The proposed law to expand gender segregation in Israeli academia is a grave mistake that undermines basic principles of equality and harms the quality of higher education. Framing segregation as a tool for inclusion is misleading; in practice it normalizes discrimination against women, narrows their opportunities and sends a destructive message to young people about whose presence is “problematic” in public and academic space. A state that aspires to democratic and inclusive education cannot institutionalize separate tracks based on gender and still claim to promote equal opportunity.

As a state democratic network, Amal firmly opposes this legislative initiative and rejects the notion that separation can be a path to a high-quality, future‑ready education. Amal’s professional experience shows that genuine excellence is built in mixed, diverse learning environments that prepare all students to live, work and lead together in a shared society. Turning segregation into official policy is not a professional, research‑based educational reform but a populistic move that ignores the complex needs of a holistic, mamlachti education system.

Amal itself is a clear example of what inclusive leadership can look like: the network is led by two women, CEO Karen Tal and her deputy Tamar Peled Amir, who together demonstrate effective, values‑driven leadership at a national scale. Their partnership proves that when women are present at the decision‑making table, entire systems can move forward in innovation, achievement, and social responsibility. Amal calls on policymakers and the public to replicate such models of women’s leadership across organizations in Israel, and to invest in policies that expand shared, egalitarian learning spaces rather than enshrining separation and discrimination in law.