University of Haifa Scholarship Effectively Excludes Arabs

Though Arabs constitute 41 percent of the University of Haifa’s student body, the award is only given to students who have passed the matriculation exam in a subject related to Judaism.

For comparison’s sake, the extent of scholarships the university offers to Arab students is estimated at around 2 million shekels a year ($597.9 million) — although Arab students constituted 41 percent of the university’s student body as of 2018, according to the Council for Higher Education in Israel.

A university representative explained that students who have not passed a matriculation exam in Bible or Talmudic studies can apply for the scholarship in their second year, as long as they have passed two courses in Judaism or Jewish culture with a grade of 80 or above.