A leading London law firm has persuaded a University to exempt an Orthodox Jewish student from having to sit an exam on Shabbos. When Joel Raivid, a third year psychology undergraduate at the University of Hertfordshire learnt that he was slated to sit a final exam on Shabbos Emor, he took the problem to the Jewish Student Chaplain for London, Rabbi Gavin Broder, who suggested a practical solution to the University – that Joel could sit the exam a day early and be chaperoned by the Rabbi until the other students sat the exam the following morning.  This was rejected by the university who claimed the only solution was for Joel to take the exam during the University’s re-sit period for those who had failed the exam the first time around at the end of June or early July.

Joel and his family saw this as a form of discrimination. How could Joel ‘resit’ an exam he had never taken and why should he be put into a position where he was compelled to do so?  There was obviously no help coming from the university. In response to a letter from Joel’s mother, Mrs Marsha Raivid, Hertfordshire University’s Vice Chancellor Professor RJT Wilson simply reiterated the offer of a resit.

Mrs Raivid advertised through the popular community resource EdgwareK for anyone who had found themselves in a similar situation. She was inundated with replies. Among them was a suggestion that the family contact Anthony Julius of the well-known law firm Mishcon de Reya.  They were aware that several other universities (which comply with anti-discrimination legislation and respect the religious beliefs of their students) do frequently make alternative arrangements as a matter of course when an exam falls on Shabbos.

“I think the university was quite surprised to hear from Mishcon de Reya,” Joel told the Jewish Tribune. “Until that moment they didn’t realise it was a serious matter. Only then did they become responsive to the needs of other Orthodox Jewish students. It’s only a year ago since they began to schedule exams on Shabbos.”   There are over thirty Jewish students at the university, not all of them Orthodox.

Mishcon de Reya started legal proceedings with the result that a week before the exam  the University of Hertfordshire agreed that Joel could take the exam a day before its scheduled date  while being supervised by Rabbi Broder until his peers had completed the exam.

Joel finally sat his exam on the Friday, the day before it was scheduled. “It was only because of Anthony Julius and Mishcon de Reya that I was able to do it,” he said. Perhaps this win-win situation will encourage other universities to take the needs of Jewish students into consideration whether it involves offering alternative dates to sit exams when these fall on Shabbos or Yomtov or permitting students as a matter of course to leave early on winter Fridays.

Anthony Julius from Mishcon de Reya said that under current employment and race relations legislation,  the University’s original decision to make Joel sit the exam during the re-sit period was discriminatory.

“Scheduling the Exam on a Saturday put Joel and other Orthodox Jews at a particular disadvantage when compared with other students.  Also, the University’s decision could not be justified by reference to the minimal impact that taking Joel’s religious beliefs into consideration would have on its examination timetable.”

Mr Julius said that Britain’s student population is diverse and all students should be free to attend University secure in the knowledge that their religious beliefs will not be compromised.

He added that were Mr Raivid in employment, “this issue would not have arisen-so familiar are employers with their obligations under the legislation.  Sadly, educational institutions (which are equally bound by the anti-discrimination legislation) have failed to learn their lesson and students such as Joel must still fight to be allowed to practice their religion.”

(Dina Rosell for Jewish Tribune – UK)