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Sanctuaries of faith, not fear
National Director of State Relations
Houses of worship should be warm and welcoming places but instead, some of them have become mini-fortresses where strangers are looked at with suspicion and armed guards or police stand watch outside.
The Honorable Elan Carr, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Less than 48 hours later, we heard the terrible news about the terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand. Religious individuals, gathering for prayer, were gunned down in their houses of worship. We condemned the attack and expressed our condolences. No community should be targeted because of their faith. Houses of worship should be sanctuaries of faith, not places of fear.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) address Agudath Israel mission delegates
Religious discrimination and security, however, were not the only issues we focused on in Washington. During a panel discussion over lunch, Secretary DeVos, Senator Cruz, and Representative Byrne talked about their federal scholarship tax credit proposal, which now has House and Senate language and was included
in President Trump's proposed budget. Secretary DeVos also spoke about her announcement that the Department of Education would no longer prevent religious entities from serving as third-party educational providers of secular equitable services.
On the state level, Rabbi Matz reports (
below) about the separate House and Senate proposals to expand school choice in Florida, while Rabbi Sadwin helped organize a
rally of 1200 nonpublic school students and supporters in Annapolis.
International: A key Hungarian lawmaker visited our offices to discuss matters affecting the Jewish community.
In the Courts: In New York, the battle over state control of private schools continued, with
two lawsuits filed so far. On the federal level, an appeals court
upheld the constitutionality of the tax-exempt parsonage allowance. Agudath Israel joined a COLPA (National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs)
brief authored by Nathan Lewin in this case.
On behalf of everyone at Agudath Israel, we wish our readers a Happy Purim!
A.D.
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STATEMENT FROM AGUDATH ISRAEL ON TERROR ATTACK AT NEW ZEALAND MOSQUES
The brutal murders of 49 worshipers in two mosques in New Zealand is a personal tragedy for the relatives and friends of those who were killed, and yet another in the long list of murderous acts born of religious or racial hatred.
This horrific act is not a crime against Muslims alone, but against humanity.
Agudath Israel of America extends its condolences to the families of the worshipers killed, and condemns all such evil acts and the attitudes that lead to them.
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Agudath Israel Washington Mission:
Orthodox Jewry's Concerns Expressed in High Level Meetings with Cabinet Members and Congressional Leaders
"One person can make a difference!" This theme, the ability of the very few to make things better for so many others, was the rallying cry of Tuesday night's orientation for Agudah's annual Washington Mission. Representing Jewish communities from coast to coast, more than 50 delegates from ten states traveled to Washington D.C. to discuss matters of concern affecting Orthodox Jews with top federal officials during Agudath Israel of America's Washington Mission.
Attorney and Champion of the Orthodox Community's religious Rights Nathan Lewin
Carving time out of his extremely tight schedule in order to address the mission, prominent litigator Nathan Lewin shared his observations on how dedicated advocates who are engaged in the legislative process can become effective catalysts for change, particularly today when the Supreme Court appears to be more favorably disposed towards religious groups than in the past. Mr. Lewin spoke about religious rights cases that he has argued in his own half-century long career and discussed the major role his father played in the 1957 federal kosher slaughter legislation that remains on the books today. The Polish-born Mr. Lewin, whose family fled from the Germans in the early days of World War II when he was a small child, also warned about waves of anti-Semitism that have become disturbingly prevalent, noting that they may be the harbinger of a more serious situation in the future.
Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudah's
Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director and Counsel
The final speaker of the night was Agudah vice president for government affairs and Washington director and counsel Rabbi Abba Cohen, who coordinated the mission in conjunction with Agudah executive director Rabbi Labish Becker, Rabbi Motzen and Agudah events coordinator Mrs. Debby Jacobs. Rabbi Cohen, who has become a respected figure in the halls of government during his 30 year career in Washington, gave a brief overview of some of the many issues that are being supported by the Agudah in the 116th Congress, including Israel, security grants, schools choice, combating BDS, and tax issues affecting nonprofits. The vast scope of issues that affect the Jewish community are so far reaching that Rabbi Cohen noted that even with another ten employees on his staff, he still would not be able to fully cover them all.
To read more about Tuesday's program and to see more pictures click
here.
To read Agudath Israel's 2019 federal agenda booklet click
here
On Wednesday, the day began with an inspiring address by the U.S. State Department's recently appointed U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, the Honorable Elan Carr. The group then headed to the U.S. Department of Education where the group met with Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Jim Blew and Policy Advisor McKenzie Snow to discuss the new multi-billion dollar federal tax credit scholarship plan recently announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The meeting included comprehensive presentations and insightful questions about the proposal, with both Mr. Blew and Ms. Snow acknowledging Agudah Vice President for Government Affairs and Washington Director Rabbi Abba Cohen's key role in shaping the legislation, especially as it pertains to the inclusion and wording of its religious liberty protections.
McKenzie Snow, Rabbi Motzen, Jim Blew
27 years after he was honored with the Humanitarian Award at Agudath Israel of America's 70th annual dinner for taking a strong stance against religious discrimination in a Rockland County village, Attorney General William Barr once again proved himself an ally by assuring delegates to the Agudah's Washington mission of the federal government's commitment to upholding the religious rights of every United States citizen.
To read more about Wednesday morning's meeting at the Department of Justice and to see more pictures click
here.
Attorney General Barr watching a clip of his 1992 speech at the Agudah 70th Anniversary Dinner. To watch, click here.
With delegates representing California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas, members of the mission spent their final hours on Capitol Hill split into groups led by the eight Agudah state directors. The delegates met with nearly 30 members of Congress or senior staffers in their offices, discussing a variety of issues including Israel, anti-BDS legislation, anti-Semitism, the scholarship tax credit bill, security grants, religious liberty and nonprofit tax burdens.
Agudah delegates meeting with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY)
"It is heartening to see members of our community from literally across the country giving of their precious time to make a difference in lives everywhere," said Rabbi Cohen. "It is equally heartening to see how eager and interested our elected officials are to meet with our delegates and hear their concerns and understand their issues. Agudath Israel's efforts in bringing the two face to face, whether in Washington or in state capitals, inevitably leads to better advocacy, better lawmaking and ultimately better futures for our community's families and institutions."
To read more about Wednesday's program and view pictures click here.
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Bill Text and Analysis on Education Freedom Scholarship Bills
The Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act, was recently introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) (S.634) and Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) (H.R. 1434) (as of the sending of this newsletter only the House version text was uploaded on the Congress.gov website).
For additional analysis, Rabbi Abba Cohen was interviewed by Hamodia (here) about the Education Freedom Scholarship proposal (which was then quoted by US Secretary DeVos in a Tweet) and Rabbi Motzen offered his thoughts to Ami magazine (here).
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Maryland CAPE Rally in Annapolis
Rabbi Ariel Sadwin
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan addressing the crowd
Rabbi Sadwin leading the chants "It's all about the kids!"
1,200 nonpublic school students lobby Annapolis for continued state funding.
On Tuesday, Maryland's nonpublic school community once again came out in droves to the State capitol in Annapolis for the annual student rally hosted by Maryland CAPE (Council for American Private Education). More than 1,200 students, teachers and parents from across faith communities, gathered to express their appreciation for the state-funded programs that benefit their schools and their families.
Governor Larry Hogan spoke to the cheering crowd about the important role students can play as advocates for the programs that are so vital to their communities. The Governor then took time to meet and engage with the students.
After a morning of lobbying their legislators and touring the legislative buildings, the students gathered for lunch where they were joined by Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford. It was the first time the annual nonpublic school advocacy day events were graced by both the governor and lieutenant governor.
Among the 1,200 students were more than 100 students from Maryland's Jewish day schools. Students from Bais Yaakov and Bnos Yisroel, both of Baltimore, and Berman Hebrew Academy, of Silver Spring, spent their day interacting with legislators, observing the House and Senate floor sessions, and effectively serving as ambassadors for their communities and for the programs which help them and thousands of their peers.
Rabbi Sadwin and Rabbi Yisroel Gelb (visiting for the day) with Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford
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Agudath Israel Guides Yeshivos as Lawsuits are Filed on Equivalency of Instruction
A lawsuit was filed this past Thursday in New York State Supreme Court by a group of Jewish plaintiffs, challenging the New York State Education Department's recently promulgated substantial equivalency guidelines. To read the lawsuit click here.
The new SED guidelines were published on November 20, 2018. They require local school districts across the state to evaluate all nonpublic schools in their districts for compliance with the legal requirement that they provide an education that is at least "substantially equivalent" to that which is offered in local public schools. Many of the requirements of the guidelines are onerous and inflexible. They understandably provoked a great outcry in the yeshiva community, as they would appear to require radical changes in the schedule and educational mission of many if not most of our yeshivos.
After efforts to persuade SED to change the guidelines were largely unsuccessful, and with no other short term resolution in sight, the rabbinic leaders who have been involved in monitoring this matter came to the reluctant conclusion that the guidelines must be challenged in court. The plaintiffs in the case are three Jewish organizations (Agudath Israel, Torah Umesorah and PEARLS), five yeshivos (Chaim Berlin, Torah Vodaath,Tiferes Yerushalayim, RJJ and Chasan Sofer), and five parents. They advance several grounds of attack against the new SED guidelines. Without going into detail, the first group of claims allege that the SED exceeded its legal authority in promulgating these guidelines. The complaint further alleges that even if such authority were to exist, the Commissioner failed to abide by the rulemaking process for creating new regulations, and that the guidelines therefore are unenforceable. Finally, the complaint alleges that the guidelines violate the parent plaintiffs' constitutional rights of free exercise of religion, due process and free speech.
Plaintiffs are planning to file a motion for a preliminary injunction in the days ahead, with the goal of stopping the implementation of the new guidelines during the pendency of the litigation. We will report any further developments on this motion after it is ruled on by the court. Significantly, the Jewish plaintiffs are not the only ones who have filed a lawsuit against the new SED guidelines. Earlier last week, 11 member schools of the New York State Association of Independent Schools filed their complaint, also challenging the SED's legal authority to promulgate the guidelines. Additionally, we have reason to believe that there may yet be at least one other lawsuit in the offing, by another prominent nonpublic school constituency; we should know more in the days ahead. Obviously, the new guidelines are deeply objectionable not only to the Jewish school community, but also to the full spectrum of nonpublic schools across New York State.
In the meantime, we and other nonpublic school groups have been reaching out to members of the New York State Senate and Assembly to alert them to the fact that the entire nonpublic school community is united in firm opposition to the new guidelines, and to work with them in developing new legislation that would resolve the impasse. Indeed, this was the number one issue discussed at last week's Agudath Israel "Albany Day," when a delegation of approximately 60 yeshiva representatives and activists from across the state spent a full day in meetings with legislators and high ranking officials from the Governor's office. To support these legislative efforts, we are also reaching out to other relevant parties who are potential allies in this battle, including school district leaders who are not pleased with the new oversight responsibility that has been thrust upon them under the new guidelines.
From Agudath Israel's perspective, as determined by the rabbinic sages who guide us, it is the right of every single Jewish community to establish a system of education that conforms to its traditions. Our rabbinic leaders (Roshei Yeshiva, Admorim, Vaadei Hachinuch) - they are the ones who should make educational decisions for their institutions, not government bureaucrats. As we see it, an attack on the educational autonomy of any one yeshiva is an attack on all.
(Excerpt from letter sent by Rabbi Zwiebel to New York school administrators)
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Scholarship Bills Introduced in Florida
Rabbi Moshe Matz
Executive Director
Agudath Israel of Florida
The Florida Senate and House recently introduced bills to expand school choice options. The Corporate Tax Scholarship Program which currently provides low income students with a tuition scholarship has reached capacity, and there are currently around 15,000 students on a waiting list.
The House Education Committee filed a bill that would eliminate the waiting list and help about 28,000 students in the 2019-2020 school year.
The House bill is known as the Family Empowerment Scholarship It would help pay for private school tuition and fees. Any unused funds would be able to be rolled over to the next school year.
The Senate version would be capped at 15,000 students in its first year.
Both proposals would be funded through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). The Senate bill would be administered by the state Department of Education, the House bill would be managed by eligible Scholarship Funding Organizations such as
Step Up For Students
.
The House version of the legislation has the value of the scholarships at 97 percent of the district average per-student funding in the FEFP. Eligibility would be limited to students whose household income levels do not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($77,250 for a family of four) in the first year. That amount would increase by 25 percent each following year until it reaches 375 percent of the federal poverty level ($96,563 for household of four).
Students would be eligible if they spent the previous school year in public school for grades 1 through 12, if they are entering the private school for kindergarten, or received a scholarship from an eligible Scholarship Funding Organization the previous year. Once families are found eligible, they would not have to re-verify their income every year.
The Senate bill has the value of the scholarships at 95 percent of the district average per-student funding in the FEFP. Like the current Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, eligibility would be limited to students whose household income levels do not exceed 260 percent of the federal poverty level ($66,950 for a family of four).
Agudath Israel of Florida is working closely with its coalition partners to promote and encourage legislators to work together to pass the most robust expansion of school choice option for families.
(adapted from recent RedefineEd articles)
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Agudath Israel Meets with Key Hungarian Lawmaker
Clockwise around the Table: Dr. David Moskovits, Dr. Istvan Bajkai, Member of Parliament, Hungary, Thomas Barat, Founder and President, American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York, Inc., Reb Shia Markowitz,CEO, Agudath Israel of America, and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Executive Vice President, Agudath Israel of America
Dr. Istvan Bajkai, the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Legislation and the Member of the Committee on Justice of the Hungarian Parliament together with Thomas Barat, Founder
and
President, American Hungarian Chamber of Commerce of New York, Inc., and David Moskovits visited Agudah Headquarters in New York on Thursday, March 7th. They met with Reb Shia Markowitz, CEO, and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president. Among the topics discussed was the preservation of Orthodox Jewish cemeteries throughout Hungary and the positive climate currently enjoyed by Jews in Hungary, including a report on the successes of the Hungarian Jewish school founded by Dr. Moskovits.
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Agudath Israel of America's division of government affairs is engaged in advocacy and legislative outreach activities on the local, state, and federal levels. In so doing, Agudath Israel seeks to protect the rights and advance the interests of observant Jews and their growing network of educational and religious institutions; and to offer a uniquely Orthodox Jewish perspective on contemporary issues of public concern.
Advocacy and Civic Action | Government Affairs | Regional Offices | Torah Projects | Youth Services | Communications | Global Relief and Rescue | Social and Community Services | Constituent Services
and we will send you the report as a Word document.
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