Two Legislators on the Wrong Side of an Issue

New York State Senator Simcha Felder of Brooklyn

There have long been questions about whether private yeshivas, which predominate in Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley, are meeting state standards for non-religious instruction. The sources said state Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, a Democrat who sits with the chamber’s majority Republican conference, was pushing for yeshivas to be exempted from review by education officials. Previously, the sources said, Felder and other parties to the talks were willing to authorize a study of the issue. 

New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich of Queens

A Queens councilman, (Eric Ulrich ) himself the product of a private school, called out critics of the yeshiva system, saying that attacks on religious schools are unfounded and could have widespread effects that could be devastating to faith-based communities throughout New York State...

 The councilman also called into question the motives of anti-yeshiva activists, remarking that they “continuously attack the Orthodox Jewish community under the guise of educational quality.”

In an email sent to VIN News, Ulrich described allegations that yeshiva students are receiving a substandard secular education as “egregious and absurd.”

“I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on courses at yeshiva schools, and it is clear to me they take secular education seriously,” Ulrich, who has personally visited Orthodox and Chasidic yeshivas in both Brooklyn and Queens, told VIN News. “I was genuinely impressed with the teachers, who are dedicated to giving their students the best education possible.”