Ex-Haredim Sue Israel for ‘Financial Damage’
There is a remarkable twist in the ongoing battle about Haredi education.
The majority of boys’ schools serving Ashkenazic Haredim do not teach the ministry’s required “core curriculum,” causing fury among secular politicians and educationalists. The Haredim say it’s their right in a multicultural society to decide to give their children a narrow religious education if they want.
Now, a group of graduates from these schools is suing the state for letting their schools ignore the curriculum. “Whoever studied in haredi schools without core issues (including those who are still haredi) and has been forced to complete matriculation or psychometric exams, losing years of work or suffering any other financial damage, is invited to send us his personal details,” says the promotional material of the group initiating the lawsuit. They are members of Maavar, an association of ex-Haredim.
This is going to be fascinating to watch. How will the state respond to a lawsuit holding it responsible for an educational approach, chosen by the plaintiffs’ parents, which it opposes but hasn’t, until now, had the confidence to fight? And if these ex-Haredim succeed, what’s to stop still-observant Haredim who say their earnings power has suffered from suing, too?
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30