Yellow star protest against move to register yeshivah students
CHAREDI PROTESTERS returned to the streets of Westminster last week to oppose what they see as a threat to yeshivah education in the UK.
Some sported yellow stars – associated with the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust – as MPs discussed a proposal for local authorities to register children who are taught in out-of-school settings. An estimated 1,500 bo ys from 13 to 16 in Stamford Hill learn in unregulated yeshivot where they receive little or no secular education. Under the current law, such institutions are not defined as schools and therefore beyond the scope of the inspection service Ofsted.
But Charedim fear that registration – proposed in a private member’s bill by Conservative MP Flick Drummond, which is receiving its second reading today – will be the thin end of the wedge in bringing yeshivot under state scrutiny. A spokesman for the protesters said: “We stand here today, compelled by our obligation to defend the sacrosanct rights of parents and their children to an education that is not forced upon them or influenced by ephemeral political and social trends. “Our dedication to safeguarding religious freedom is unwavering, and we are prepared to face this challenge indefinitely, fully aware of the historical consequences of persecution. We see the current proposal as part of a looming threat to liberty, democracy, and religious freedom, viewing these foundational principles as under siege within our nation.”
The registration idea was originally one of a package of measures contained in the government’s Schools Bill, which bit the dust at the end of 2022.
But the government promised to bring back the measures in new legislation and it remains to be seen how far it will support Drummond’s bill.
Registration would give local authorities a much better idea of the whereabouts of children who are not in registered schools.
But the proposal has been denounced by leading Charedi rabbis, not only in Stamford Hill but also in Gateshead.
The Schools Bill prompted a number of Charedi protests in Westminster before the government ditched it, owing to opposition to new rules on governing academies.
The veteran yeshivah head Rabbi Elyakim Schlesinger, who is 102, circulated an appeal, urging members of the Charedi community to join the 15 March protest.