Community Magazine April 2019

38 Community Magazine E lections for NY City Public Advocate were prompted by Letitia James’ concluding her term of office, after being elected following Eric Schneiderman’s resignation. The office of Public Advocate is not powerful in andof itself. However, the Pubic Advocate is first in line for the mayor’s position, should the mayor be unable to serve. The Public Advocate position also provides a launching pad for mayoral candidates. Prior to the election, twelve distinguished rabbanim from the Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities met with community leaders and activists in the Ahi Ezer Torah Center in Flatbush to compose a letter urging the yeshiva community to go out and vote for Councilman Eric Ulrich. Normally, they would not have endorsed any candidate, however the following circumstances prompted their involvement. New Educational Guidelines for Secular Education Over two months earlier, the NY State Education Department published its guidelines mandating the number of hours of secular education, as well as the subject matter taught in yeshivot and Bet Yaakov schools. Much of the mandated subject matter is antithetical to Torah values. Additionally, "special monitors" were appointed to inspect religious schools regularly to make sure they followed State guidelines. These guidelines immediately impacted an estimated 115,000 children who attend Orthodox educational institutions in NY. They are the result of a three-year investigation instituted at the insistence of YAFFED (Young Advocates for Fair Education), a group of 52 former students and teachers from Chassidic schools, Failure to Get out the Vote Brings Troubling Consequences for our Yeshivot Machla Abramovitz founded and led by Naftuli Moster. YAFFED accused the state of violating Section 3204 of the State Education Act that obligates public school districts to insure that private schools within their territory provide their students with a "substantially equivalent" secular education similar to that provided in public schools. YAFFED claimed that the Chassidic schools did not provide an adequate education to enable their students to succeed in the secular world. This accusation resulted in a Department of Education probe into 38 Brooklyn yeshivot and one in Queens: 25% of the yeshivot that YAFFED targeted did not exist. Six yeshivot refused to open their doors to inspectors. On November 20 th , two weeks after the Democrats won control of the State House, these guidelines were published. They caused a whirlwind of opposition. Critics say they transfer the oversight of nonpublic schools to local school districts that can result in local officials using them "as a license to intrude into the fundamental working and mission of religious schools." Rabbanim and Community Members Meet The rabbanim and activists were in crisis mode when the Ahi Ezer meeting took place. Although taking the matter to court was an option, there were political avenues to consider first. The unexpected opening of the position of Public Advocate provided such an opportunity. From among the 17 candidates running for the office of Public Advocate, Councilman Ulrich, whose daughter attends a Catholic school, was the only one who condemned DOE’s interference in religious schools and promised to fight tomaintaining the autonomy and integrity of yeshivot and all parochial schools. The February 26 th elections for NY City Public Advocate brought disastrous results for the yeshiva community. Jumaane Williams was elected, leaving behind Eric Ulrich, our community’s candidate of choice.