Years-Long City Probe Into Orthodox Jewish Schools Still Has No End In Sight

NEW YORK, NY — It was just over two years ago that city education officials finally agreed to look into whether NYC's Orthodox Jewish schools, or yeshivas, were teaching even the bare minimum of core subjects like English, math and science to tens of thousands of kids, as required under state law. Local ed activists were psyched; for months, they'd been begging the city to probe a few dozen particularly Torah-focused yeshivas in Brooklyn and Queens. But their optimism has slowly soured as the city's investigation languishes and stalls, again and again.

As of Monday, Aug. 28, on the eve of a new school year, city officials still have nothing to show for their investigation, launched way back in August 2015. And their most recently promised release date for an "interim report" — Sept. 22 — seems to have evaporated entirely.

"We take this matter seriously," an NYC Schools spokesperson insisted in a statement sent to Patch on Monday, "and the investigation is ongoing." However, officials could provide no other updates or deadlines.

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"It's been way too long, and it's not fair for tens of thousands of Hasidic children," activist Naftuli Moster told NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Foriña, appointed by the mayor, when he confronted her at a New York Law School breakfast last Friday.

The chancellor's reported response? "No comment." Then, a small consolation: "This is a very complicated problem."

Critics suspect it may not be all that complicated. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio is relying on the powerful Orthodox voting bloc to help him get re-elected, as he did in 2013. Orthodox leaders don't want city detectives sniffing around at their kids' schools. The next mayoral vote is set for Nov. 7. You do the math.

"We have no comment at this time, thanks!" a spokesperson for the mayor said in an email sent to Patch.

But Moster sees the parallel as glaring. "I think it's becoming obvious to the public that certain people are having a great and disproportionate amount of influence over the mayor and his chancellor," he said Monday.

"I hope the public will hold them both accountable," the activist added — "because God knows we can't do it alone."

Even if the city does release its beleaguered yeshiva report at some point, Moster and other members of his organization, Yaffed, are worried it'll be spineless.

For one, the city has been warning individual schools before inspectors stop by — giving teachers time to alter lesson plans if necessary. "In accordance with State guidance, we work with schools involved in the investigation to schedule a time for a formal visit," an NYC Schools spokesperson told Patch.

So Yaffed staffers have taken up the task of compiling their own 100-page report. The independent workup, scheduled to drop Sept. 6, will include info like the "number of students affected," the "projected growth of the problem," the "impact on the taxpayer" and reccs for city action.

"The boys' schools, at least, are focused on educating every child under the assumption that they’re going to be a rabbi," Moster said. "Obviously the silly part of this is that only 5 percent of them — maybe — will become rabbis."

Here's some testimony from graduates, all collected by Moster's nonprofit, Yaffed:

Moster grew up Orthodox Jewish and still identifies as such, but he's gotten the cold shoulder from community leaders for his fierce criticism of the education system he says failed him and so many others.

Based on data from the U.S. government and various Jewish institutions, Moster estimates that by the year 2030, nearly one out of every three Brooklyn school kids will be an Orthodox Jew — many of whom, if the city continues to look the other way, won't receive the most basic K-12 schooling.

"Just imagine what that means," Moster said in a recent phone interview with Patch. Not only for the kids themselves, he said — who graduate as cripples, in terms of career options and life skills — but for everyone living next door. "If they don’t learn any history or any geography or anything about other races and religions, that’s too many kids not knowing anything about their neighbors," he said.

And there are big dangers, of course, in not knowing your neighbors. Ignorance can turn to bias. Empathy dries up. Hate creeps in. Trust erodes. Democracy takes a hit. Civility — and public safety — decline.

Moster has been frustrated by the lack of concern for Orthodox kids he's seen not only in New York City, but in the Jewish population worldwide.

The rapid Orthodox birthrate means America's most conservative Jews may soon outnumber secular ones, he said. "Precisely because they are our future, we need to maintain their traditions, but they should also be able to be self-sufficient," he said.

Lead photo by Mo Gelber, courtesy of Yaffed/Facebook