Close to 500 attendees representing 160 schools across New York State gathered last week for the 5th annual Yeshiva Summit. The Yeshiva Summit, a project of Agudath Israel of America’s Yeshiva Services department, is part of Agudah’s mission of advocating for schools across the spectrum of Torah Jewry. Participants spent a full day hearing from community leaders, elected officials, and experts in their respective fields about a variety of topics directly impacting New York State yeshivas. The summit also offered participants significant networking opportunities as well as the ability to meet with more than 40 on-site vendors representing a variety of businesses and services that service schools.

Titled OnPoint, the 2024 summit focused on forging ahead in a difficult environment, directly addressing security, educational, and funding issues, as well as other growing challenges. In his opening remarks, Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus, director of Agudah’s Yeshiva Services Department, added that one of the main purposes of the summit was to equip yeshivos with the information they need to make informed decisions under the guidance of each school’s rabbinic leadership.

Attendees at this year’s Yeshiva Summit were privileged to hear divrei chizuk from Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshiva of Staten Island, and participate in a question-and-answer session about some of the most pressing issues that yeshivas are facing today.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the attendees and spoke out strongly about the need to fight antisemitism and to defend our Yeshivas as they face a “full frontal assault.” Mayor Adams said, “I know how well our Yeshivas are doing. I see the scholars, I see the greatness of those who have gone through the system.”

Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY 11) also addressed the summit, saying that attendees could help make school choice a reality in New York State and across the country by asking their members of Congress to co-sponsor the Educational Choice for Children Act. The Act is a federal proposal that would provide $10 billion in scholarships for students. Agudah is a founding member of the Invest in Education Coalition that is advocating for this bill and has been helping secure co-sponsors. (You can take action to support this bill by clicking here.)

“Every year, we see hundreds of administrators, from across the spectrum of yeshivos, who are committed to learning how to do everything right in running their schools,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Pinkus. “We are so impressed by the achdus, eagerness to learn, and dedication that we see from every attendee, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to assist these institutions at the Yeshiva Summit and throughout the rest of the year.”

“One thing that is very clear from the Yeshiva Summit is that the Agudah is there to serve our needs,” said Rabbi Dovid Stein, Administrator, Yeshiva Karlin Stolin. “They tell us what our options are, and support and guide us on the decisions we make along with our daas Torah.”

“The Yeshiva Summit is one of the most important events of the year for New York yeshivos and is attended by yeshiva administrators from the broad spectrum of Torah Jewry” said Rabbi Tzvi Liberman, Assistant Administrator of Yeshivas Vyelipol. “The sessions are informative and ensure that we are aware of all the opportunities that are available for our schools and that we are educated about all the rules and regulations that we need to know to ensure that our Yeshivos run smoothly.”