Dozens of yeshiva graduates and parents of yeshiva students gathered outside of the Satmar Girls School in Williamsburg to speak out against the unrelenting attacks against their schools by anti-yeshiva activists and declare their right to choose the best education for their children.
“We have made the choice to send our children to yeshivas and value the education they receive. We refuse to be intimidated by a small group of graduates who want to deny us that right. Enough is enough. This misinformation campaign must stop once and for all,” said Levi Oberland, a licensed social worker, yeshiva graduate, and parent.
“For nearly two years, we have watched a small group of disgruntled ex-students wage a public campaign of misinformation about yeshivas. They claim that the education yeshivas provide is inferior to that of public schools, and that our students are unprepared for success. These claims are outrageous,” added Oberlander.
A community crying out in agony of being harassed, belittled and bullied by Nicholas Moster aka @yaffedorg Let the hoodlumism stop. @Yochanan80 @NYSEDNews #MosterDoesNOTSpeakForMe pic.twitter.com/FOMn2UT5T0
— Aron Wieder (@AronWieder) April 8, 2018
“We’re tired of being harassed by critics who don’t understand what takes place in our classrooms and who refuse to respect the choices that generations of parents have made — and continue to make. We are concerned that the continued disparagement of our schools will poison public perception of these extraordinary institutions,” said Ari Greenberg, a parent, yeshiva graduate, former web designer at B&H Photo and manager of a workforce development program at the United Jewish Organizations.
The press conference was held in response to a continuing campaign of attacks by YAFFED, a group calling for intensified government intervention into yeshivas, which serve tens of thousands of children every year.
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9 Responses
No parent has the right to rob a child of a basic K-12 education- which is essential for getting a decent job with which they can support a family. It is not deplorable that Satmar prevents their children from obtaining high school diplomas- thereby preventing them from pursuing almost any profession. Nor is it acceptable that thousands of Jewish children are born in New York, yet sound like immigrants, speaking broken English with thick accents. This is another unnecessary, self inflicted barrier to their success.
Satmar’s contention that they provide a secular education that’s on par with the public schools is absurd and a brazen lie. Instead of playing the victim card, Satmar should embrace the ideas of Yafed and other concerned activists. By doing that, they can save their children from the poverty that more often than not is coupled with a lack of an education.
Its interesting how scared they are from a small group.
Its a free country and anyone has a right to thier opinion ,just like satmar has thier opinion about the israeli government and how the satmars kiss up to the arabs who are out to kill every jew.
I’m sorry but the “disgruntled students” are right. The poor standards of basic education in many Yeshivah’s are a disgrace and borders on child abuse. Thank god for the people pushing for change so that this generation can have the education to be able to get well paying jobs to care for their families.
I am not sure it is fair to label those who are critical of the Satmar / Ultra Chasidishe mosdos as “anti yeshiva”…I think that the major opponents are actually quite ‘pro yeshiva’ but would prefer to see these communities teach their children some very basic general studies and give them more skills so they can work and not to be so impoverished.
It is hard to deny the fact that places like Kiryas Yoel and Williamsburg have the highest rates of poverty in the U.S. and that most of these “yeshiva graduates” use government food stamps and receive tzedakah. Once you are taking lots of handouts from the greater community, you lose your right to reject any outside input.
Demands from none other than former graduates. The former graduates know what the system is like and how the teaching standards are because they experienced it first-hand. I think there is a lot of credibility from having real “Aidim” (witnesses) to the standards of the education.
oh great, so public schools are producing model citizens? Where do all the inner city welfare recipients who are dealing and using drugs, stealing, murdering,etc. go? Aren’t they just using the wonderful values taught in public schools? What’s wrong with accented English, all you anti-yeshiva nuts? You’re culturally diverse and sensitive except where it involves Jews?
*IT IS DEPLORABLE…..
Hey doceelisheva,
That’s a straw man argument. No one is saying that public schools are good. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because public schools are failing doesn’t mean Yeshiva’s should be allowed to let their students fail also by not teaching basic knowledge and churning a generation of government dependent individuals with limited skills.
I find this satmar situation disgusting. They are robbing their innocent children the ability to make a living to support the future generations. And they try to trick the USA law to their benefit.
In the meantime the satmar Rebbe lives in magnanomous homes and has the wedding of his grandkids paid for by his rich followers. How can he stand there and understand anything that his ppl deal with? He’s preaching an ignorant and destructive path. This is a disgrace to the Jewish ppl. There are many Satmar who are shomer motzvos but need to make a living to support their family and they cant get by, even with an ok paying job! They cant make the money they need to make sure that their kids have food on the table and cloths on their backs. Why? Because they were educated in the satmar system, that does not allow the “goyish education” lest the ppl go off the derech. Give me a break! There are families suffering bc of this stupid educational decree! And the rebbe is warm and comfortable in all of his homes around the world. A disgrace!!