editorials
Secular Education in Chasidic Schools
T he recent, highly anticipated New York Times
“exposé” of Chasidic yeshiva education in New
York State did not disappoint.

The lengthy, front-page article painted a disturbing
picture of a deliberately defi cient secular education
program in Chasidic schools, fraudulent misdirection
of government funding for school programs and
services, widespread corporal punishment within
the schools and a growing problem of drug abuse
and homelessness for those seeking to escape the
oppressive strictures of their Chasidic upbringing.

So, it came as no surprise that a few days later,
New York’s Board of Regents voted overwhelm-
ingly to impose a system for review of non-pub-
lic education providers within the state and the
enforcement of a secular curriculum in all schools.

Reaction to the article and the regulatory move
was predictable.

Those on the left focus on the Chasidic boys’
high schools’ refusal to provide basic English and
mathematics instruction for their students; the stu-
dents’ resulting abysmal test score failures; and the
impropriety of these schools taking government
funding for what is essentially an entirely religious
education program.

Those on the right challenge the bias and con-
descension of the report and those who promoted
it; criticize the lack of understanding or apprecia-
tion of the Chasidic community’s commitment to
education — which doesn’t defi ne success as the
achievement of secular literacy; and emphasize
the remarkable success of the intentionally insular
Chasidic community, which has cultivated a thriv-
ing and growing community committed to religious
values, volunteerism and charitable giving. And,
of course, they defend the Chasidic community’s
right to decide what is right for their own children
— no less so than the Amish community, which the
U.S. Supreme Court exempted from high school
instruction a half-century ago.

As is often the case in these kinds of debates,
those presenting the arguments often talk past one
another. Each side is so focused on its own talking
points that they ignore some of the fundamental
issues that create the problem.

For example, very little of the commentary
focuses on the meaning or the proper measure of
the regulatory requirement of “substantial equiv-
alency” in connection with education provided in
non-public schools. Nor do the warring advocates
explore whether possible means can be devel-
oped to address the targeted schools’ perfor-
mance problems without unnecessarily impinging
on their religious concerns.

In this regard, the Regents’ regulatory approach,
which imposes teaching requirements rather than
establishing performance measures seems partic-
ularly problematic. If the intention is to improve the
lives of children enrolled in Chasidic schools, and
regulators are willing to respect religious concerns of
the institutions, why mandate instruction standards
or hours of commitment? Instead, why not consider
an outcome-based standard — equally applicable to
public, private and home-schooled children? All of
the schools would be judged by the same standard
and would be subject to the same consequences.

Such an approach would, of course, require
the State Education Department to engage with
the Chasidic schools — to understand their edu-
cation and religious concerns and to help work
through them. The alternative of imposing instruc-
tion requirements makes little sense, as it almost
guarantees interminable litigation and further delay
of the very educational goal the state claims to be
pursuing. JE
T he long, complicated and tragic relationship
between Jews and Germany was front and
center last week. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid
made a brief but intense 24-hour visit to Germany
as part of an eff ort to present Israel’s case against a
renewed nuclear deal with Iran.

But it was the symbolic messages baked into
the visit that attracted the most attention and
shined a light on just how complicated today’s
Germany-Israel relationship is nearly 80 years
after the Holocaust.

Lapid’s connection to the Holocaust is per-
sonal. His paternal grandfather, Bela Lampel, was
murdered by the Nazis in the Austrian camp of
Mauthausen in April 1945. Lapid’s grandmother
and his father witnessed the abduction from their
home in March 1944, and were later saved by
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. So, this visit
by Lapid as prime minister of Israel was particu-
larly poignant for him. And he brought reinforce-
ments — he was accompanied by fi ve Holocaust
survivors and their families who joined his dele-
gation, and he pointedly elevated the survivors to
prominence during the visit. Indeed, as he exited
his plane upon arrival, he walked arm-in-arm
with Shoshana Trister, one of the survivors, who
froze at the sight of the German military honor
guard. “I said to the prime minister, ‘Look at their
14 SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
On Sept. 12, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid visited
German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in
Berlin. hats,’” Trister reported. She then relayed Lapid’s
response: “And he said to me, ‘I’m holding you.

You will go down with me. You are not alone.’”
That’s powerful stuff .

Lapid met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
and other senior offi cials in an eff ort to coordinate
a common position on Iran. He also signed a
Germany-Israel security, strategic and coopera-
tion agreement, in which Germany committed to
Israel’s security and Israel committed to play a
role in building Germany’s new air defense force.

The agreement also comes with economic and
security benefi ts.

Lapid and his delegation visited Wannsee Villa,
just outside Berlin, where Nazi leaders met in
1942 to adopt the “Final Solution,” and they held
meetings in Munich. At each stop, Lapid’s theme
was consistent: He repeatedly touched upon the
impact of Holocaust deaths while noting that time
can heal some wounds, and asserted that the
deep ties between Germany and Israel “are proof
that humanity always has a choice. Evil can be
replaced by friendship.”
Later that day, Lapid met with German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He thanked the German
leader for supporting Israel in the battle against
antisemitism and for his eff orts to negotiate a
compensation agreement for the families of the
1972 Olympics victims. This was particularly timely
since the 50th anniversary of the Munich mas-
sacre, where six Israeli coaches and fi ve Israeli
athletes were murdered by the Palestinian Black
September terrorists, was observed just days
earlier. The message from Lapid’s visit was clear: While
we dare not forget the past, we can learn from it
and make ourselves better. And without apology
for his cautionary reminders, he acknowledged
Germany’s outstretched hand. JE
Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom
Lapid’s Triumph in Germany