The Emerging Majority Among U.S. Jews Presents A Challenge
The charedi community is growing rapidly in numbers and influence. Do we continue to ignore this reality? Seek to engage? Are they even interested?
Blaming The New York Times: Agudath Israel, a major charedi organization, has launched a campaign, including billboards, accusing the newspaper of ‘outrageous’ reporting and ‘villifying’ the charedi community.
The fact that tens of thousands of Jewish boys in New York are not receiving the bare minimum of secular education they are entitled to under state law would seem to be a major issue for the organized Jewish community.
But that’s not the case. Far from it.
Most of the major Jewish organizations avoid the issue. The ADL, which has a sterling record for more than a century in combating anti-Semitism and discrimination, has taken sides of late. To the surprise of many, it has joined those who strongly oppose efforts to ensure that an estimated 65,000 boys in chasidic yeshivas receive basic educational tools and skills.
What’s going on here? A lot, it turns out, because the issue touches on power, politics, money, religious freedom, independent media – and, especially, the increasing clout of the fastest growing segment (by far) of the Jewish world: the charedi/chasidic community.
(Chasidim are a sub-group within charedi, or ultra-Orthodox, Judaism.)
Demographics for the charedi population of American Jewry are difficult to come by, but experts believe the rate of expansion is similar to that of Israeli charedim, whose growth rate is three times that of other Israeli Jews and make up about 13 percent of Israeli society. On average, charedi women in the U.S. have six children.
The immediate issue here is the ongoing controversy over a major investigative report by The New York Times last fall that revealed an open secret in the Jewish community: for decades many chasidic yeshivas in New York have failed to provide minimal secular education to male students between the ages of 6 and 16.
The yeshivas and their defenders condemned the Times investigation, which in the last several months has grown to about a dozen stories on various aspects of alleged violations. Critics of the report say it was biased and inaccurate; some have gone further, characterizing The Times as anti-Jewish in general and anti-chasidic in particular.
Many other Jews consider the criticism of the Times to be a glaring example of “kill the messenger,” blaming the newspaper for thorough, deep-dive reporting on allegations that include the yeshivas’ failure to fulfill a state mandate on educational instruction and exploiting state funds.
One thing is certain. The impact of the Times reporting on this issue has been dramatic. Several prominent Jewish politicians who long ignored the issue spoke out after the original Times report. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes a large swath of the chasidic community, observed that some of the schools were “utterly failing,” and stated: “It is our duty to all New York students to ensure that the law is enforced.” (See my Substack column, “The One Jewish Advocacy Issue Our Leaders Won’t Touch,” May 9, 2022)…)
After seven years of New York City officials dragging their feet, failing to complete reports regarding neglect among yeshivas, Betty Rosa, the state education commissioner, stepped up last month and set a June 10 deadline for the reports.
One of the reasons politicians and Jewish organizations have avoided the issue for so long is concern over offending a charedi community that is growing in influence and number. Demographers predict that as assimilation increases and charedi families continue to grow, the ultra-Orthodox will be the majority of the American Jewish community in the coming decades.
Time To Engage Charedim
How does that impending scenario affect communal leaders today?For all the rhetoric among establishment organizations and foundations about their commitment to Jewish peoplehood and ensuring a robust and more united Jewish community, there are a number of stumbling blocks to closing the wide gap between the majority of American Jews and the charedim.
Until now, a primary focus of mainstream Jewish organizations has been to reach out to younger and less affiliated Jews with funding and programming to engage them. Very little attention has been directed toward the charedi community, which, it should be noted, is no monolith and includes some bitter internal rivalries.
One reason for the lack of attention is that there often is little understanding of and appreciation for charedi culture and interests, in part because there is a perception that the community is self-sufficient, and in part because many charedim seek to separate themselves from the mainstream in order to preserve their way of life.
(One dramatic example of the current gap was the noticeable absence of charedim at the Solidarity March from Manhattan to Williamsburg three years ago; an estimated 25,000 people took part to protest the spike in anti-Semitic violence, much of it directed at charedi Jews. But they chose not to join in.)
Lindsey Bodner, executive director of the Naomi Foundation, has called for engaging with the ultra-Orthodox leadership in planning ahead. Writing in eJewishphilanthropy on “The Future Is Charedi,” Bodner suggested providing serious funding and programming “to strengthen connection points with Orthodox leaders and institutions,” tailoring projects like Birthright, PJ Library and Moishe Houses to accommodate charedi participants.
That may be hard to imagine now, but as Bodner noted, “for those who want to influence the future of the Jewish community in the U.S., rather than ignoring changing demographics, it will be necessary to grapple with the growing population of charedi Jews and factor in the large young Orthodox population.”
ADL Head Sides With Agudah Over ‘Times’
Sharing Bodner’s logic, no doubt, the ADL in New York created a staff position of liaison with the charedi community several years ago. But a statement that ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt made last September, at a White House Summit on the rise of anti-Semitic crime in New York, was a clear indication of a seismic shift in the organization’s approach to charedi interests.
Speaking a few days after the first and most detailed New York Times report was published about chasidic yeshivas, he surprised many when he seemed to suggest that The Times story was biased and could provoke further anti-Semitism.
Greenblatt said: “It's really unfortunate that The New York Times took an issue which merits investigation and exploration and framed it in such a way that I think was very unhelpful and could encourage some of the bad stuff.”
“The issue of education needs to be looked at,” he said, “but I hope that others can do it … differently than The Times did, in a way that’s unbiased and decreases anti-Semitism rather than potentially contributing to it.”
In recent weeks, the ADL has featured on its Twitter feed a major internet and billboard campaign launched by Agudath Israel, the largest charedi organization in the country. Titled “KnowUs.org,” it not only counters what it calls the Times’ “misconceptions” and “inaccuracies” about chasidic yeshivas and the community, but charges the newspaper with blatant anti-Orthodox bias.
The centerpiece of the project is a 40-page White Paper called “Fact vs. Fiction: The Truth About New York State Yeshiva Education.” Rather than refute the details of The Times reports on the lack of secular education the yeshiva boys receive, including interviews with former students, the White Paper focuses on the alleged anti-Orthodox motivation of The Times. It says the newspaper’s reporting was “outrageous” and “has placed inordinate resources and emphasis on vilifying the Jewish and chasidic community in recent months.”
That theme is reflected in its billboards in the city that say “Please Stop Attacking Our Community” and “12 New York Times Articles Against Orthodox Jews In 3 Months.”
As someone who has struggled for decades to be both a loyal member of the Jewish community and an independent and sometimes critical voice, I read The Times reports and the Agudah critiques carefully. My conclusion is that the two sides are speaking past each other. The journalists were reporting facts; the yeshiva sympathizers were responding less to the facts than to a feeling that their way of life was being scrutinized and attacked.
For example, the White Paper points out that the two Times reporters (who are Jewish) “stepped foot into only a single chasidic school” and “only spoke to a small percentage of the community it so heavily censured.” But it doesn’t mention that the schools did not let the reporters in, and most of the community views The Times as the enemy.
I have much admiration for Jonathan Greenblatt and what he has accomplished. But I was disappointed that he chose to blame The Times rather than acknowledge the fact that many chasidic schools, in not providing secular education (seen as a threat to the chasidic way of life) are violating the law of the land.
To suggest, as Greenblatt did, that The Times reports could lead to increased anti-Semitism – rather than the misdeeds of the chasidic schools – is simply unfair. As others have noted, the ADL exec did not call out The Times for reporting on Harvey Weinstein, Bernie Madoff and Jeffrey Epstein and suggest that the abusive behavior of these Jewish men could lead to more anti-Semitism. In those cases, as in the matter of the chasidic schools, The Times was doing its job.
Beatrice Weber, a mother of 10, is the recently appointed executive director of Yaffed (Young Advocates for Fair Education), the non-profit that has led the battle for more secular education in yeshivas for more than a decade. She has been making the rounds, meeting with the leaders of a number of Jewish organizations in New York, including the AJC, JEP (Jewish Education Project) and JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council). But the ADL’s Greenblatt has declined to meet with her. “So far, he’s the only one,” she said. He has stated that the education of boys in yeshiva “simply isn’t an ADL issue.”
In a note to a Yaffed supporter, Greenblatt wrote: “Our 24/7 focus is fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of hate. We’re not ‘taking sides’ nor are we getting involved … I know education is crucial and I’m not minimizing its importance, but we don’t need to meet with the leadership of Yaffed because their focus is just not our cause.”
It does appear, though, that ADL has taken sides, including on its Twitter feed information on Agudah’s KnowUs.org campaign and doubling down in recent tweets that suggest The Times’ subsequent articles on alleged yeshiva violations “can add fuel to the fire [of anti-Semitism].”
If the ADL is about protecting Jews, it should be speaking out for tens of thousands of yeshiva boys who are deprived of their right to a basic education and, as a result, are likely destined to a future of limited employment opportunities.
One insider who is close to both the charedi and mainstream Jewish communities told me, “ADL understands the demographic trends of New York Jewry, and it has been successful in building relationships in the charedi world. They’re not seen as the enemy anymore. ”He noted that while the current base that supports Jewish establishment institutions is shrinking and aging out, the ultra-Orthodox community, as it spreads to other parts of the state, is expanding.“
The establishment leadership is trying to figure this all out and we’re seeing some shifting and re-evaluating,” the insider said. “There’s a recognition that the charedim are the Jewish power structure of the future, politically as well as demographically. “But no one quite knows how that’s going to play out.”
Follow Up: Comments On “It’s Time To Pull The Trigger On ‘Trigger’ Words
There were a number of responses to the Guest Essay by Gary Wexler posted here on Jan. 30. Here is a sampling:
. I must admit that I didn't really understand this whole phenomenon until I read the article, and I am aghast that this is going on. I think that perhaps, it stems (to a degree) in the way (some) children (apparently) are raised today -- coddling them, rather than fostering resilience.
. This really deserves more publicity.
. I find it interesting that there are two such opposite extremes out there now. There is the true insane extreme-coddling you describe, and the opposite where people go out of their way to be offensive and *reinforce* stereotypes. Strange divergence. (As for "the field," like you, I always thought it was harmless; I associated it with field trips, literally going to the field for nature research and such, transplanted into social sciences. I never associated it with slavery and highly doubt that's part of the origins of “working in the field.” (But I work in, uh, a different field.)
.The issue may be generational, but I am sympathetic to Gary Wexler's post.
The NY Times spent years researching, documenting and vetting what for many were the shocking expose of educational neglect in the Jewish community. It must be noted that the highest level of poverty in NY's Jewish community is among the Hasidim as documented by UJA-Federation's Jewish population study. The large family size contributes no doubt, but the reality that for most in the community the lack of a secular education profoundly impacts their ability to earn a livable wage, or if they want to secure a higher education. With no education in civics, and high rates of voter participation, their community's leadership excercise their powerful authority, directing for whom to vote This in no small measure is responsible for the powerful voting bloc that so empowers them.