“We should learn from what is being done in yeshivas to improve education”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to support yeshivas (Talmudic schools), even saying public schools should emulate them. With these remarks, Eric Adams distances himself very clearly from the incriminating investigations published by major American media last year, which affirmed in particular that the level of ultra-Orthodox religious establishments was well below the educational requirements of the State.
In a speech last Wednesday at an event organized by the Orthodox Union (OU), the aedile suggested that the city’s public schools were failing and that they should follow the example of the yeshivas.
“Instead of focusing on how to work for the success of our children, we are attacking yeshivas that provide quality education,” he said. “We should rather ask ourselves what we are doing wrong in our schools and learn from what is being done in yeshivas to improve education.”
In his address, Eric Adams also said he “makes no apologies for believing in God”, adding: “We are a country of faith and belief, and we should have the opportunity everywhere to educate our children in result.”
The mayor, who had won the support of Orthodox voters for his election, concluded his speech with these words: “You were there for me when I ran for mayor, and I will be there for you as mayor.”
Last September, the New York Times had published a series of articles reporting that New York yeshivas did not meet state educational standards, and that some teachers used corporal punishment against students. The also alleged that some of these institutions had diverted public funds allocated to special education for other purposes.
The series of surveys drew criticism from community leaders, but also from conservative groups, who described it as a false and misleading attack on ultra-Orthodox people. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO ofAnti-Defamation Leaguealso echoed those complaints in a recent speech, saying that coverage of the Times reflected “the kind of anti-Semitism that we know all too well”.
The New York mayor’s statements come amid a delicate backdrop as his administration battles local media efforts to publish the city’s assessments of 26 yeshivas. The Citya news site, sued to force the city’s education department to publish its evaluations of teaching in these yeshivas, compiled as part of a survey on the quality of education in New York schools.
While the court ordered the Department of Education to release the assessments, New York City said it would appeal the decision, arguing that releasing them would interfere with an ongoing investigation.
2023-05-16 10:35:10
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