Antwerp’s Rabbanim at Critical Court Session on Curriculum

A critical high court session took place on Wednesday in Antwerp, Belgium regarding the new law that seeks to intervene in the curriculum content of the country’s chareidi schools. The hearing was the final one in a series of hearings over the law. The judges were surprised to see the court packed with Rabbanim, important figures in the community and more than 100 parents who sought to convey their solidarity with the opponents of the law, Rabbi Pinchas Kornfeld, the chairman of the Antwerp community Machzikei Hadas told Hamodia. Numerous Rabbanim and dignitaries attended the court session, among them Harav Ahron Schiff, Rav of Machzikei Hadas kehillah.

The Belgian parliament recently enacted a new law that seeks to impose certain secular studies with problematic content on chareidi schools. The frum
community took every possible step to work against the law. Legal personalities claim that the law violates the freedoms that Belgian law stipulates, among them freedom of religion, freedom of education, freedom of expression and freedom of conscience. Senior legal experts claim that the law is not constitutional because it violates freedom of religion. They therefore demanded that the court use its power to nullify the law. The arguments were submitted to Belgium’s high court, before a panel of eleven judges.

Some three months ago, the chareidim saw the first sign of progress when, in a rare move, the court temporarily suspended the part of the law affecting high school education, while leaving in place the part affecting elementary education. Practically speaking, this has had no effect so far, because the law is only scheduled to take effect for the school year beginning in September.

On Wednesday the final hearing was held at the high court, at which both sides were given a chance to present their claims.

The claims are in essence presented in writing, not orally. The file already includes 250 pages of protocols. However, being that the subject is such a serous one and has generated a lot of public attention in Belgium, the court announced that it would allow a final opportunity for both sides to present their arguments orally.

The judges allowed four attorneys representing chareidim to speak, as well as a government representative. The arguments centered around the legal aspects, and the judge did not allow either side to veer from that angle.

Also appearing in court was a non-Jew who lives near Antwerp and who submitted a request to join the appeal. The man has one child and claims that for his own ideological reasons, he and his wife homeschool their child.

This man’s claim indirectly supports the chareidi stance, because the chareidi schools are considered in Belgium to be private institutions. This means the parents are educating their children independently and they bear responsibility. To date, the state has not mixed in to this arrangement, something that the new law would do—and that would affect this homeschooled child.

The fact that the court was full of Rabbanim and parents seemed to impress the judges. The delegation was important because the government claimed that the schools do not represent the parents. It claimed that the parents want their children to study under the government plan, and only the school administrations are opposed to it. The fact that more than 100 parents attended contradicted that false premise.

The judges are expected to render a decision at the end of May, but it is likely that it will be delayed because of the significance of the issue.

Analysts say that the court has three options: to allow the chareidi education system to continue in its current format and annul the law; to agree to leave the law intact, which would be catastrophic for the chareidi schools; or the option of a compromise, whose details cannot be predicted at this point, and which is also something to be concerned about.

The Antwerp community is hoping and praying that this decree will be lifted so that they can continue to educate their children in a Torah fashion, as they have done for so many years.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the April 25th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.