'Decisions Coming Shortly' on Brooklyn Jewish Schools, Says NYC Chancellor

Pictured: Activist Naftuli Moster spoke Wednesday at the monthly meeting of the Department of Education's Panel for Education Policy. Photo by John V. Santore

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — The head of New York City's school system said Wednesday that an investigation into the educational standards of Orthodox Jewish schools (yeshivas) in Brooklyn and Queens is underway.

"I just want to reiterate that we are investigating," New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said. "I have personally visited several of the yeshivas, and I do believe there will be some decisions coming shortly."

Fariña addressed the issue at the monthly meeting of the Department of Education (DOE)'s governing body, called the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP).

The superintendent did not provide further details regarding the agency's investigation or its time frame. DOE representatives did not return a request for additional comment.

The chancellor was responding to remarks made at the PEP meeting by Norman Siegel, an attorney for the Orthodox Jewish activist group Yaffed.

Yaffed has argued for years that many of the city's orthodox schools, especially those in Brooklyn and Queens, omit English and secular studies from their curriculum — and therefore don't meet state educational standards.

State guidelines require all private schools, including yeshivas, to offer “instruction which is substantially equivalent to that provided in the public schools.” Enforcement falls to the superintendent of the district containing the schools in question.

"This is a serious civil-rights issue, and yet nothing is being done," Siegel said Wednesday in front of the PEP panel. "It's been going on for years. It's got to stop."

Naftuli Moster, a yeshiva graduate and Yaffed's founder, spoke after Siegel.

"Just saying that you're conducting an investigation is not enough," Moster said. "We need to hear something. We need to know what you're doing."

Last summer, the DOE said it would investigate a confidential list of nearly 40 schools identified by Yaffed as particularly egregious offenders.

(Moster said he hasn't released the list because he's still hoping to work with the schools to change their curricula.)

But as of this March, the department had yet to provide any details on its work. A DOE spokesman would say only that the investigation was ongoing and that DOE officials planned to send surveys to schools.

Moster, head of the activist group Yaffed, said that following meetings with DOE personnel in December and early January, he has been unable to reach anyone at the agency so far this year.

As a result, earlier this month, Siegel and Yaffed reiterated their threat to sue the city and mayor over the issue — although they said they'd prefer not to.

On Wednesday, Siegel said Fariña's comments suggested the DOE doesn't intend to work with outside activists.

"We wanted a cooperative journey for justice," Siegel said. "From what we heard tonight, it increases the likelihood that we might have to litigate this issue."

Om the other hand, Moster said, "It's good to know they're actually still conducting an investigation."

But the activist expressed doubts that Fariña's alleged yeshiva visits had given her a clear picture of the yeshivas under investigation — especially if the trips were arranged by school officials.

"On the day that you show up to do an inspection, it doesn't look like it was the day before, or the day after," he told the PEP panel. "The lunch suddenly looks amazing. The English books suddenly come out."

Moster's assertions are backed by dozens more concerned members of the local Orthodox Jewish community.

In July, 2015, Yaffed sent a letter to Fariña and a group of DOE superintendents about the yeshivas. The letter was signed by 52 "parents of current students, former students and former teachers."

As with the yeshivas, the names of the signatories have so far been withheld, with the aim of protecting them from the social repercussions of publicly criticizing community institutions.

A few of the signatories, though, did attend a Yaffed press conference earlier this month.

Several more spoke at Wednesday's PEP meeting. They provided only their first names.

Yoseph, who said he attended Bobover Yeshiva Bnei Zion in Borough Park, claimed his English instruction at the school was a "sham."

If students scored a "zero" on English tests at the school, he said, "there would be no reaction to it."

Yoseph said he once told an administrator he was worried he wouldn't be able to attend college. He said he was told in response: "Why would you want to go to college?"

Officials at the Borough Park yeshiva couldn't immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Another activist, David, said he attended Yeshiva Belz, also in Borough Park.

David claimed he received no secular education after the age of 12, and found himself working a minimum-wage job at the age of 20.

"There's no jobs for you unless you have some kind of education," David, who currently works as a driver for a cab service, told Patchh.

Well into his 20s, David said, he struggled to speak English, even though he was born and raised in New York City.

A voicemail left Thursday for Yeshiva Belz administrators was not immediately returned.

Editor's Note: This post has been tweaked for clarity.