Shock: New York State Escalates War on Yeshivas

By Y.M. Lowy

In a shocking escalation of its campaign against Torah education, the New York State Education Department has stripped two Williamsburg yeshivas, Yeshiva Bnei Shimon Yisroel of Shopron and Talmud Torah of Kasho, of public funding, ordering parents to find alternative schooling by July 1. This unprecedented move effectively shuts down the yeshivas, an alarming government overreach into chinuch.

The state’s authority to force parents to withdraw their children is being challenged in court by PEARLS, a yeshiva advocacy group. While a trial court ruled in 2023 that the state had overstepped, an appeals court reversed the decision, and the case is now headed to New York’s highest court. Separately, PEARLS has filed a federal discrimination complaint, arguing that government interference threatens the integrity of Torah education.

While politicians like Mayor Eric Adams have previously praised yeshivas for their exceptional values, the relentless attacks continue. 

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