Statement from Mayor Adams and Comment From Prof. Aaron Twerski on Substantial Equivalency Ruling

In a statement to Hamodia following the announcement of 18 New York City yeshivas being declared not substantially equivalent, Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement to Hamodia, “Children and families are important to all our communities. Although every school did not reach the standard of substantial equivalency, the Department of Education and I are optimistic that by working together with the community we will accomplish that goal.

“Throughout the years I have visited this community and communicated with educators frequently, and I know they are committed to the best education possible for their children.”

COMMENT by Prof. Aaron Twerski

Once again the chareidi community is being portrayed by the media as failing to provide its students with secular education. It is an outrageous lie. Our chareidi schools provide secular education. They may not meet the requirements of the New York Board of Regents but, in fact, the education of our students is vastly superior to that set forth by the Board of Regents. As a law professor with over a half century of experience in  education and a father, grandfather and great- grandfather of over 100 descendants, all of whom attended chareidi schools, I know whereof I speak. Our schools teach analytical skills through Talmudic studies that is extraordinary. We have pleaded with the accreditors to focus on this crucial aspect of our curriculum to no avail. The function of education is to produce intelligent citizens who can function with excellence in society. We have done so.

In every area of endeavor they meet and exceed the state norms of productivity. Consider their representation in the following:  Accounting firms, the building trades, special education, psychologists and social workers, real estate ventures, building rehabs, medical services, nursing homes, graphic designers, computer science, banking consultants, clothing manufacturers, international trade, plumbing and heating contractors, urgent care centers, asbestos removal, exterminators, insurance advisors, estate planners, and  entrepreneurs of all kinds. Walk the streets of Boro Park and you will see hundreds of successful businesses of every variety (many of them upper scale) all owned and operated by chareidim who graduated from our schools.  Hatzolah, the largest volunteer rescue force in the State of New York who have over the years trained hundreds of paramedics, are largely populated by chareidi  graduates. Currently there are building projects for chareidi schools and synagogues in Boro Park that exceed half a billion dollars not to mention residential building that runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars. They are built with the support of the chareidi community who through their success in commerce have the wealth to support these ventures. In the last state elections our turnout exceeded by far the state average. Our population is intensely interested in the politics of the city and state.

Our schools do not need monitors to prevent guns from entering the property. Our crime rate is infinitesimal. Our family structure is sound and robust. All this is a result of a school system that teaches both substance and morality. We are proud of our accomplishments and need not apologize to anyone. I have said this before. The public schools should turn to the chareidi community to learn how to educate their children. We have and continue to do so in a manner that deserves the highest praise.

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Prof. Twerski is the Irwin and Jill Cohen Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, and former interim dean at Hofstra University School of Law.