Right Wing Rabbis Order Zionist Orthodox Party Leaders To Block Moves To Force Haredi Schools To Teach Math, Civics

The rabbinic leadership of the Zionist Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi party’s conservative, haredi-leaning Tekuma faction has now issued a letter to the party’s political leaders ordering them not to force haredi schools to teach the country’s mandatory core curriculum. The letter, signed by Rabbis Dov Lior, Haim Steiner, Iser Kalonski, and David Hai HaCohen also ordered the party’s political leadership not to widen the electoral committee for selecting the chief rabbis.

Rabbi Dov Lior

Right Wing Rabbis Order Zionist Orthodox Party Leaders To Block Moves To Force Haredi Schools To Teach Math, Civics
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

The rabbinic leadership of the Zionist Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi party’s conservative, haredi-leaning Tekuma faction has now issued a letter to the party’s political leaders ordering them not to force haredi schools to teach the country’s mandatory core curriculum, the Jerusalem Post reported. The letter, signed by Rabbis Dov Lior, Haim Steiner, Iser Kalonski, and David Hai HaCohen also ordered the party’s political leadership not to widen the electoral committee for selecting the chief rabbis.

The vast majority of haredi schools teach little or none of the country’s core curriculum or any other secular subjects.

Israel’s High Court of Justice has already ruled that haredi schools that receive government funding must follow the law and teach the country’s core curriculum. But the previous government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not enforce the law in deference to its haredi coalition partners.

“[The study of Torah is a] source of life and oxygen for the existence of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.…It is unthinkable that we would be partners to the demands to harm the budgets of these Torah institutions, whether they are Zionist or haredi elementary schools, high schools or yeshivot.

“The independent [haredi] school system and haredi elementary schools should not be harmed, and the content of the education programs should be left alone to be according to what has been accepted for generations in the hands of those who guide this educational framework,” the four Tekuma rabbis reportedly wrote.

They also ordered HaBayit HaYehudi’s political leadership to block the expansion of the committee that elects Israel’s chief rabbis, claiming that “alien considerations” should not be allowed to influence the elections process. The expansion has been proposed as tool to dilute the impact of the committee’s haredi members, who wield disproportionate power because of backroom deals made during the previous government. The Tekuma rabbis wrote that expanding the committee to dilute the haredi vote would damage the standing and validity of the chief rabbinate.

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Comments

[seymour]

it getting stranger every day sad

[Outcast Yid]

The biggest fear of most Orthodox rabbis is to be seen as not being frum enough. Very few have the courage and gravitas to stand up to Charedi pressure. That's why most of my friends wash their strawberries with soap; our "modern" Orthodox rabbis tell them to do so. Ridiculous; who ever did such a thing in Europe or North Africa?

Never forget -- the first leader of the world's first enlightenment movement was Avraham Avinu. Anyone who encourages ignorance about the world is preaching another religion.

[jancsibacsi]

We are heading into a tottalatarian dictatorship with theese power hungry rabbis,i think the best thing for all of us is to tottaly ignore them so their arrogance and power will cease to exist,we by listening to them give them power its that simple.

[FF]

the point is: the school most prepare the kids for life and to be able to get a job. If parents want to live this way, good, but to force their kids into ignorance is cruelty. Which give the state the power to take out the parental rights.

[Josh]

How do chassidish schools in the US - including most chabad schools - get away with not teaching any "secular" subjects? Many of there schools receive all sort of government funding.

Shmarya, I know you've brought this up before buy I wish you would really shine a light on this subject.

[Seraphya Berrin]

I think this may backfire in two ways:

1) Politicians, of all people, do not like being told what to do.

2) Habayit Hayehudi campaigned as not being beholden to Rabbis. If they want to get as many votes from the general population as next time, they have to show they aren't beholden to these racist nut jobs.

[Winston Smith in ILSOC]

People are easier to control when knowledge, educated is limited. Rabbi's know this and they fear that when people eat of the tree of knowledge they will think for themselves, question and might find different avenues for their lives.
Saying this...if the Haredim object to the govt insisting on the core studies...then they should not take any money from the state and have totally private schools. Enough of this. Govt in the first place should have nothing to do with education, but since it is in place...the Haredim if they want a cut of the pie must abide by the rules. If not, let us cast them aside with a hearty good riddance and save the money. Let them get their money from private sources.

[David]

++++“[The study of Torah is a] source of life and oxygen for the existence of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.…It is unthinkable that we would be partners to the demands to harm the budgets of these Torah institutions, whether they are Zionist or haredi elementary schools, high schools or yeshivot."++++

What "Torah" are they studying? The Torah I know instructs parents to teach their children in a manner that they can work and earn a living. THAT is Torah. There is no concept in Torah of being a deliberate parasite upon your brother.

[ruthie]

David,
What "Torah" are they studying? The Torah I know instructs parents to teach their children in a manner that they can work and earn a living. THAT is Torah.

how true.
and what a sweet and huge bracha it is for the parent that can do this.
i just don't get it....they are out to control these children.
not teach?
not teach math and how this planet runs? omg

[Jeff]

"It is unthinkable that we would be partners to the demands to harm the budgets of these Torah institutions, whether they are Zionist or haredi elementary schools, high schools or yeshivot."

Then don't be "partners" to it - encourage them to start teaching secular subjects, so their budgets won't BE harmed.

What the hell is happening to the Zionist Orthodox? They're discouraging education, establishing modesty gestapo... . I thought the term referred to a form of Modern Orthodoxy, like Dati Leumi. Apparently, I was mistaken.

[Jeff]

"How do chassidish schools in the US - including most chabad schools - get away with not teaching any "secular" subjects? Many of there schools receive all sort of government funding."

Bloc voting. In New York, the government looks the other way as the politicians are scared to death of them.

It looks as though that may be changing slightly.

[Gold]

@Jeff

Slightly? I just don't even a slight change over here in New York.

[Jeff]

"Slightly? I just don't even a slight change over here in New York."

I thought there was some mention of enforcing the regulations, but you may be right.

[Eli, what me messiah?]

How do chassidish schools in the US - including most chabad schools - get away with not teaching any "secular" subjects? Many of there schools receive all sort of government funding.
Posted by: Josh | May 03, 2013 at 01:06 AM

It's not just in the US. In parts of Europe and especially in Russia and the CIS, Chabad is able to get away with educational murder, operating day schools and boarding institutions that remain off the government radar screens because they are unlicensed. They also don't benefit from funding, as parents likely declare their children are enrolled elsewhere.

Where their schools are licensed (and receive government funding), they tend to pay more attention to required educational standard. as a result, the Lubavitch/chasidic influence is not as strong.

[Jeff]

"Where their schools are licensed (and receive government funding), they tend to pay more attention to required educational standard. as a result, the Lubavitch/chasidic influence is not as strong."

My understanding (from my nephew, hardly an unbiased source) is that there are two types of schools within Lubavitch - those that teach secular subjects (to a point), and those that do not.

He's already as much as told me to which schools he'll be sending his children.

May the memory of Lubavitch and all of its rebbes, yimach sh'mo, be blotted out, and may the transgressors have no place among the People of Israel!

(Wow. I had a Haredi moment there!)

[Eli, what me messiah?]

Jeff, that's consistent with my understanding of how Chabad organizes their schools, basically one that is "on the books" and the other that isn't.

the more legit school appeals to the Jewish population that expects their kids to go on to university, or at least get normal jobs. The off-the-books (or unlicensed) school is for those who will get married as soon as they graduate from high school and have families with 14 kids, and for whom a secular education is deemed to have no value.

it's a bit like Scientology not telling you about the alien race of Raelians until they've got you deeply indoctrinated into the bowels of the movement (pun intended)

[!]

Is it possible that the non-Chareidi Rabbis involvedwith this proclamation want to keep the status quo i.e. a monopoly on orthodox educated students/employees/professionals/ constituents so they can look good and reap the financial or social benefits it affords? Believe it or not, modern orthodoxy is attractive to a certain segment of hareidi raised adults and baalei teshuva exactly because it allows both. (I know many). Removing that distinction may seem scary to these folks.

[Sarek]

To translate into American:

"Hey, we don't need any a yer secular edjamacashun. We got this here Torah. Don't need nuttin' else. We'll learn 'em from that."

[Luke]

You heard it before, "No New York State Certified Curriculum, no State or Federal aid." That would solve a lot.

Luke.

[Bas Melech]

All this is new Torah as taught by Ashkenazim who now influence Sfardim who try to prove that they are just as frum.

[Jeff]

"it's a bit like Scientology not telling you about the alien race of Raelians until they've got you deeply indoctrinated into the bowels of the movement (pun intended)"

Perhaps Lubavitchers are those shape-shifting reptiles trying to conquer humanity we keep hearing about.

"Hey, we don't need any a yer secular edjamacashun. We got this here Torah. Don't need nuttin' else. We'll learn 'em from that."

The similarities are ponderous. That's a large part of the reason evangelicals have suddenly become so philosemitic (well, that and the fact that frum people now vote Republican).