Emmanuel: Perspectives Then and Now

It is hard to form a conclusive opinion on the current affairs surrounding the school in Emmanuel. The Slonimer Chassidim claim that this issue is not about Sephardi/Ashkenazi segregation, rather the separation made between classes in the school was simply meant as a way to distinguish those from a less religious background to those who are more religious. The Chassidim do not want their daughters to be negatively influenced by families who may do things like watching movies or going to mixed dances. A good proof for the veracity of this position is that Sephardi fathers also joined their Ashkenazi counterparts in going to jail this past week as part of the penalty for violating the court order to integrate the schools. If Sephardim are studying with Ashkenazim then the issue is not all about segregation. It seems that among our frum camp this previous opinion is held by the majority.

However, Rav Yaakov Yosef, son of Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav of the plaintiff, claims that there definitely was some amount misconduct from the Ashkenazim to the Sephardim and that the Ashkenazim have defamed the Sephardim, who he claims are good religious Jews, by claiming for the public media that they are non-religious Jews. Obviously, this issue is far from simple and it is constantly being portrayed with a certain amount of bias, proportional to the views of the author and paper the story is being published in. Thus it is hard to form a completely educated opinion.

Today, while I was reading "In Their Shadows," by Rav Shlomo Lorincz I came across the following story which has some semblance to the case before us today in Emmanuel. Obviously, if you hold like the Slonimer Chassidim and many other Gedolei Yisroel that there has been no mistreatment of Sephardim and that this issue is about Kedushas HaTorah and Chinuch Habanim then the story below is not really relevant. However, if you hold by the other side then it surely is a relevant story, and either way it is a powerful lesson in a time when discrimination against Sephardim and others still exists. This is something that we can all learn from.

Rav Shach fully displayed his forcefulness in a letter he wrote to Rav Shraga Grossbard, director of Chinuch Atzmai, in 5741 (1981).
At that point, the admissions policy of some Chinuch Atzmai schools discriminated against Sephardic children, in favor of children of Ashkenazi descent.
In his letter to Rav Grossbard, Rav Shach explains at length that there is no halachic basis for such discrimination, and he concludes:
Therefore, I ask you to pass a message to the principals [of the schools] that there are no excuses or justifications- they must accept Sephardic children. I write this as a halachic ruling that they may not transgress" (In Their Shadow, p. 400 by Rav Shlomo Lorincz).