Khaberni - The “Adalah” Legal Center in the 48 lands has filed a lawsuit with an Israeli court seeking to cancel the decision by Bar-Ilan University (located in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv) which prevents a student from the Palestinian citizens of Israel from continuing her studies after her decision to wear a niqab.
The lawsuit was presented to the Central Court in Tel Aviv after Bar-Ilan University informed the student, Hala Odeh, a bachelor's student in optometry, that her participation in lectures or presence on campus is conditioned on removing her niqab, justified by "integrity and quality of education", "academic educational interaction", and "the need to recognize her for security examination and academic requirements".
The student, Hala Odeh, told "Al-Quds Al-Arabi" that her religious identity is not a minor detail, but a fundamental part of her dignity and self, and a red line that she does not allow to be touched under any pretext.
She added that the university's decision directly affects these values and a fundamental right guaranteed to every student.
Odeh continued: "Our struggle is not just legal, it is also a moral struggle: defending our right to freely practice our beliefs inside the academic space without fear or discrimination. We will continue to stand firmly against any attempt to impose policies that exclude our religious identity or diminish our presence because respect for religion is first and foremost respect for humanity."
Despite the student's attempts to find reasonable solutions that consider her religious privacy and the academic institution's requirements, the university insisted on its stance to exclude her from studying due to her choice of religious dress.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Lubna Toma from Adalah, indicated that wearing the niqab was based on a personal and conscious decision by the student reached during her academic journey, as part of her identity and religious conviction.
It explained that the first weeks after wearing the niqab went by normally without objection from the academic staff or students, and that the student continued her studies with no issues. The student also gave a lecture in one of the courses about the meaning of the niqab for her, its religious roots, and its role in enhancing her presence and confidence, and the lecture was well-received and positively interacted with in the classroom.
The lawsuit added that during the mentioned period, no complaints were filed against the student, no academic or educational disruption resulted from wearing the niqab, and the teaching staff had no difficulty in recognizing her, especially since she was always fully prepared to undergo suitable and professional verification in front of a specialized female staff member.
Based on this, the Adalah Center saw the university’s decision as "merely an administrative measure based on assumptions with no basis in reality or academic necessity".
The center attached documented examples from other academic institutions that allow their students to wear the niqab without any interference with the study process.
Legally, the lawsuit states that the decision clearly infringes on established constitutional rights, including the right to human dignity, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, and equality.
Attorney Toma emphasized that the university’s decision is based on illegitimate discrimination against a student based on her religious and gender appearance, without any legal basis or internal regulations that authorize the university to impose such a condition.
Attorney Toma said: "There is no legal authority that allows an academic institution to prevent a student from attending studies due to her religious appearance. There are no legal provisions that allow higher education institutions to impose restrictions on religious dress or link the right to higher education to renouncing a religious identity. Consequently, the action taken by the university clearly exceeds its powers, and must be annulled."
