Precedent-Setting Verdict on Haifa University's Discriminatory Housing Policy

August 22, 2006

Differing perceptions about the recent war have disturbed the delicate balance between Israel's Jews and Arabs. Against this background, a precedent-setting ruling earlier this week by Haifa District Court against Haifa University's discriminatory housing policy has added significance. The ruling also reflects the strength of Israeli democracy and civil society during this difficult period.

Arab students on Israeli campuses will now get a fairer housing deal
following this week's court ruling

Veteran NIF grantee Adalah – Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel petitioned Haifa District Court on behalf of three Israeli Arab women who had been denied housing in student dormitories even though they came from disadvantaged backgrounds and lived in remote villages. The Court accepted Adalah's claim that the University's criteria for awarding housing was discriminatory because completing military service was a major factor in allocating dormitory accommodation.

Adalah's lawyer Sawsan Zaher, a past NIF Law Fellow, said "The ruling will have ramifications for other universities that make use of the military criterion," She also said that Adalah will use this legal precedent in its petition to the Supreme Court against the Israel Lands Administration's practice of giving precedence to those who have completed military service when allocating land