Several Israeli media outlets have reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to propose to the German government and parliament the cancellation of exams in German educational institutions on Saturdays and other Jewish holidays.
This decision reportedly follows an appeal by the European Forum of Russian-speaking Jews (EFRJ) after the Medical University of Munich refused to excuse Grigory Yudanin, a student whose father is part of the EFRJ leadership, from taking an exam on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
According to the EFRJ, Yudanin faced numerous rejections when he requested to be excused from exams during Jewish holidays. As a compromise, he was offered an individual solution. However, the EFRJ rejected this «gift» and demanded that all students be exempted from exams and studying on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.
According to the EFRJ, Angela Merkel supported their position and now this decision could be adopted at the national level. It should be noted that we could not find any confirmation of this news beyond the Israeli media. Although it is possible that if it is true, they may have received it as an «insight» from the EFRJ.
Overall, such a decision would also benefit Muslims, as it could serve as a precedent for granting Muslim students the right to be excused from studying on Muslim holidays and from attending Friday prayers in the future. Of course, this would not be so easy considering that Germany is a federal state where such decisions are usually made at the regional level. Moreover, when it comes to Muslims, Islamophobic forces raise concerns about «Islamization,» while in similar situations they are afraid to accuse Jews of «Judaizing» Germany.
Nevertheless, from a legal perspective, it would be difficult to deny such a right to other religious groups if it is granted to a specific group.