Trenton, NJ – New Jersey cannot give $11 million in grants to two religious schools, including one of the largest ultra-Orthodox yeshivas in the world, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
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The state appeals court ruled the $10.6 million grant to the all-male Beth Medrash Govoha yeshiva in Lakewood and $645,323 to the Princeton Theological Seminary are unconstitutional.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State had challenged the grants, which New Jersey officials argued were OK because they were meant to pay for buildings and equipment, not religious activities.
The grants were made as part of $1.3 billion given to schools across the state in April 2013. The court said its ruling doesn’t mean the state can’t give money to religious-affiliated schools that have a broader sectarian mission.
“This is a victory for civil rights and a victory for New Jersey taxpayers, who should never have to subsidize institutions that discriminate or that exist to teach their particular religious doctrine,” said ACLU-NJ Legal Director Ed Barocas.
Moshe Gleiberman, vice president of BMG, said the yeshiva is disappointed in the ruling and is confident the grants will be reinstated by the state Supreme Court. The yeshiva itself wasn’t named in the suit and a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office declined to comment on whether it will appeal.
Gleiberman said most of the 6,800 students at the yeshiva — where they devote themselves to the study of Jewish law — go into non-clergy professions. He said the projects the grants were to fund, including a library and research center, are on hold.
“Excluding these students and the institutions which serve them from funding solely on the basis of religion ?— ?even though they meet all grant criteria — is its own form of discrimination,” Gleiberman said. “This doesn’t just hurt Jewish students, it hurts us all.”
At least some courts are not corrupt unlike the one that gave KJ a green light to build as they please.
Very sad, they saving so much money thet this students dont go in oublic school so they sould at least helped them.
not to worry…rechnitz will pick up the gap
Emotionally, I would like to see BMG get the money…they and the Jungeleit need it. That said, however, I think the Constitutional ruling is pretty much a slam dunk. And I note that the other school affected by the ruling is Protestant, and so there should be no claim or allegation that anti-Semitism played a part in the outcome.
BMG Holdings may have to sell a couple of buildings from their multi-billion dollar portfolio instead of getting tax-payer dollars.
On the other hand, I am greatly distressed to learn that “most of the students go into non-clergy professions.” If so, why don’t they train in useful skills? I highly doubt that the “Library” that is now “on hold” was going to have books on computer programming…
Torah im derech eretz. We need more of both.
The world is waking up to our fraud. Most of this gelt would have been pocketed. They already received millions of dollars for electronic devices which they never bought. Same as in KJ. Not one computer was bought for millions in grants.
Please everyone here, but stop mentioning tax payer shmeel payer, as if you all are doing the right thing when it comes to it, shush it already
Imagine looking at your paycheck taxes section and knowing that for every morning you got up 5 am to make minyan / Daf a chelek of your earnings is going to fund some new Madrasa being built in Paterson how would you feel about that …
Add to that the millions bmg can no longer accept from the Michigan pell grant and well, boys, looks like the solution will need to be one based on a mentality of earning money versus subsiding on handouts.
#10 : I hardly ever respond, but that was out of line. They are saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions on tuition every year. I have 9 children and have paid pretty much regular tuition for 13 years of schooling for each child in Lkwd. Our property taxes are the highest in the nation. My 2 married daughters have degrees, work hard and pay taxes too. Many families in Lkwd are making it with much hard work. And those that need HUD to manage – it’s a zechus for US. At least for the most part, they are married, raising healthy children, contributing members of society. How many families in Trenton that claim benefits are intact, healthy, and contributing to society? Speak to the grandmothers who watch _ grandchildren from diff fathers while the mother is an addict.
How exactly are these Yeshivas helping out the local community? They are housing able bodied working men (no women) to learn Torah all day. Why exactly should the government pay for this? ( They are already paying their section 8, medicaid, wic, and food stamps). This seems like a good ruling by the courts.
Duna demalchusa duna
The Government, State and Federal gives ample slack to non-profits. As important as we deem yeshivahs and Torah study, why should the govt give BMG… ?
Nowhere in the constitution does it say anything about separation between church and state.
Bottom line – many, if not most, frum “places of learning” are scamming the govt. Deliberately or unwittingly they are involved in money laundering (my husband is in that business and found some cases – who is paying $500,000 for tuition????) The bigger the institution, the more they need and the more they scam (after bleeding parents dry.) This is just the beginning folks, many more Yeshivot & schools will lose funding.