The head of the Jewish Agency for Israel has asked Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to relax religious standards for Ethiopian immigrant families who are undergoing conversion. Ze'ev Bielski sent a letter to Rabbi Amar on Sunday asking him not to require Ethiopian children to attend religious schools while their parents are converting to Judaism, a standard practice required of all who aspire to become Jews.

Bielski claimed the requirement is contributing to racist incidents within the education system. "From media exposure we are becoming aware that these incidents (of segregation from other pupils in the religious schools) are not isolated but are, in fact, a widespread phenomenon that is dividing Israeli society," he said.

Bielski was referring to last week's furor over the discovery that four Ethiopian children were placed in a separate classroom from other students at a religious school in Petach Tikva. School officials said the children needed special tutoring to bring them up to the level of the other students; their parents, however, contended that the separation constituted discrimination.