Samuel I. Horowitz responds to Avi Schick on Jewish Day Schools

To the Editors:

After reading his piece, I noticed in the short biography of Mr. Schick that he is on the board of the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school. We both know that there is a significant difference between Modern Orthodoxy, in which I and most of my family grew up, and the ultra-Orthodox world, in which secular knowledge is denigrated and not imparted to its children.

Whether it be in the United States or Israel, I personally find it objectionable for the Jewish community to depend on public assistance to sustain families, instead of providing them an education. Yes, there is indeed an element of political power that allows this to happen.

Furthermore, I am disturbed by the takeover of low-income public school districts by some Hasidic groups. These groups siphon off funds meant for low-income groups who desperately need these funds for their future. To say that they can simply do this is not an adequate answer. You have won the school board election, but have lost the value of hesed.

I don’t deny the increasing antisemitism that Mr. Schick describes, both in the US and other countries, and the need to fight it on all levels.

I am concerned about the neshama of our people.