- Jewish quota
Jewish quota was a percentage that limited the number of
Jew s in various establishments. In particular, in 19th and 20th centuries some countries had Jewish quotas forhigher education , a special case ofNumerus clausus . These were an attempt to limit the influence of ethnic and/or religious Jews.Jewish quotas for education could be state-wide law or adopted only in certain institutions, often unofficially.
The limitation took the form of total prohibition of Jewish students, or of limiting the number of Jewish students so that their share in the students' population would not be larger than their share in the general population. In some establishments, the Jewish quota placed a limit on growth rather than set a fixed level of participation to be achieved. Countries with a history of anti-semitism, such as Germany and Hungary, had particularly strict quotas.
Jews who wanted an education used various ways to overcome this discrimination: bribing the authorities, changing their religion, or traveling to countries without such limitations. In Hungary, for example, 5,000 Jewish youngsters (including
Edward Teller ) left the country after the introduction of "Numerus Clausus". One American who fell victim to the Jewish quota was late physicist and Nobel laureateRichard P. Feynman , who was turned away from Columbia College in the 1930s and went toMIT instead.Countries legislating limitations on the admission of Jewish students
*
Imperial Russia : "Numerus Clausus" was enacted in 1887, stating that the share of Jewish students should be no more than 10% in cities whereJew s were allowed to live, 5% in other cities, and only 3% inMoscow and St. Petersburg. These limitations were removed after the revolution of 1917.
*Hungary : a "Numerus Clausus" Act was introduced in 1920, as part of the rise ofAnti-Semitism under the government ofPál Teleki . It was said that Jewish students would be no more than 6% of the student population (this was the share of Jews in the general population), compared to 30% before the war. Limitations were relaxed in 1928.See: Peter Tibor NAGY: The "numerus clausus" policy of anti-semitism or policy of higher education http://mek.oszk.hu/03700/03797/03797.htm#7
*Latvia : In 1934, underKārlis Ulmanis authoritarian regimeFact|date=October 2008.
*Poland : see Numerus clausus in Poland andGhetto benches .
*Romania "Numerus Clausus" was introduced in 1926.
*United States : see Numerus clausus in the United States.
*Germany : the Jewish quota, introduced onApril 25 ,1933 , permitted 1.5% of high-school and university enrollment (5% in a single school).
*Canada : in 1920-1940s, some universities, such asMcGill University , had Jewish quotas.
*United Kingdom : many Direct Grant Grammar Schools and Public Schools had 'unofficial' Jewish quotas until the 1960s when they were replaced with Asian quotas which lasted into the 1970s.
*United States : Certain universities, most notablyHarvard , introduced policies which effectively placed a quota on the number of Jews admitted to the university. This reached its height in the 1920s and has now died out to the point that 1/6th of theIvy League student population is Jewish.Further reading
* J. Karabel. "The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton". Mariner Books, 2006. ISBN 061877355X.
External links
* [http://www.newyorker.com/critics/atlarge/articles/051010crat_atlarge Getting In: the social logic of Ivy League admissions] by
Malcolm Gladwell ,The New Yorker , 10 October 2005
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