WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate’s defeat yesterday of an amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 that would have continued the District of Columbia’s school voucher program elicited the following response from Rabbi Abba Cohen, director and counsel of Agudath Israel of America’s Washington Office:
“It is unfortunate and deeply discouraging that the FY2009 Omnibus Spending bill effectively puts an end to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Act.
“The Mayor wants the program; the parents want it as well. It has provided new hope and opportunity for disadvantaged children living in the nation’s capital, children who otherwise would be trapped in poorly performing schools and facing a dismal future that few in their position manage to escape.
“Most tragically, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Act increased parental involvement in their children’s education. We in the Orthodox Jewish community know well from our own experience that such involvement is the key to both educational and social success.
“Congress has now abandoned this vital program. In doing so, it has abandoned Washington’s children and their hopes for a better future.”
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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5 Responses
It is unfortunate that — considering the severe economic crisis facing our Yeshivos and Batei Yaakov — Agudath Israel has failed miserably in being unable to establish school voucher programs in the U.S.
Due to incompetence or worse, they have assured us repeatedly that they are making good progress toward having several state legislatures pass the required laws. What they neglected to tell us is that because most state constitutions prohibit vouchers, the additional required initial task is to amend those state constitutions.
Here in Illinois — for reasons they do not explain — they have actually told people to vote “no” in a recent referendum for holding a state constitutional convention. Why?
I’m so confused. I feel like I came in middle of this conversation. Can someone please break this down to me belushen ruchel, bitchu, haktanu
All the askonim support Chuck Schumer, yet he publicly voted against this.
When will frum voters start drawing a line in the sand and start saying, you either support school choice or we will support your opponents?
How do these politicians continue to get endorsed by frum askonim, while totally thumbing their nose on one of the most important legislation affecting frume parents?
We just honor these politicians at our dinners, they wear a kippah, and smile and all is good.
From now on, we should make a rule, no politician who is against vouchers will be allowed at our dinners, nor will they get our endorsement!
I was wondering whether anyone could answer a question that has been bothering me for a long time….I see that Agudah puts out these statements all the time when things do not go the way most frum jews would like them to. Does anyone of importance other than the readers of theyeshivaworld.com read or care about their statements??? I have never seen ANYONE in Washington say “Oh, Agudah did not like this ruling, let’s reconsider..!!” What is the purpose of these statements & what do they do??
Either the Agudah carrys no clout whatsoever and is quixotic in everything including it’s voucher endeavor or it’s not in their self-serving interests to get vouchers altogether. For one, the Agudah rabbis get free or low tuition schooling for their own children and their children’s childeren and secondly, the rabbis that own the schools and the rebbeim are the agudah’s board members.