What We Do
Our Mission
YAFFED’s mission is to ensure that Haredi and Hasidic Yeshivas in New York deliver a sound basic education to their students.
About Us
YAFFED is a nonprofit organization founded by individuals raised within Hasidic and Haredi communities, and is committed to improving secular education in Hasidic and Haredi schools. YAFFED’s vision is that Haredi and Hasidic yeshiva students receive the education and skills for long-term personal growth and self-sufficiency, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
YAFFED employs a five-pillared strategy to create change. While we believe it is the government’s responsibility to enforce the law and ensure every child receives the education to which they are entitled, we do not believe this alone will solve this issue. We also believe that it is important to build grassroots and community-based support for change. We continue to bolster our political capital by engaging with leading Jewish organizations to support our work. We pursue legal action when necessary to compel government compliance and create precedent when officials are reluctant to act. And finally, we employ consistent and persistent awareness campaigns in the media. Each one is essential to our work.
Our Theory Of Change
Advocacy
Holding authorities accountable for delivering a sound basic education to all students.
Awareness
Bringing attention to education inequality and combating disinformation.
Legal Action
Leveraging the power of the courts to compel government action whenever necessary.
Organizing
Empowering our community to be agents of change together, gaining strength in numbers.
Power Building
Gaining political influence in support of our movement.
Why advocacy, awareness, legal, organizing, and power-building? Why focus on these five specific areas, and why do they each matter?
At YAFFED, we are deeply committed to true and deep change. That means that you cannot simply impose something as massive as changing the lives of 65,000 children (and the schools in charge of them): change must occur in a multi-pronged, intentional, and heartfelt approach.
- Advocacy – We’ve created relationships with government officials to ensure that bad actors won’t have the power to withhold a sound basic education from tens of thousands of students in Hasidic and Haredi yeshivas. We’re now leveraging this increased political power to advocate for the necessary next steps to support the ongoing turnaround of failing yeshivas. Our advocacy ensures that education authorities have the best chance of success at carrying out their responsibilities to regulate and enforce the law, ensuring that every yeshiva can offer a robust general education studies program. Thus, it is through advocacy that we believe that we can make a difference in changing the hearts and minds of those from our communities. All who are committed to YAFFED have in some way been connected to these communities, from being born there to living there today to sending our children to these very schools. We know how massive a shift it will take for some to change, and we know that law enforcement alone won’t change that.
- Raising Awareness – Education equality issues matter to everyone. YAFFED raises awareness both within the Jewish community and outside of it, shining a light on the importance of education for all children and combating disinformation from those who wish to uphold the status-quo and prevent children from receiving the education that they deserve. The work we do is often overshadowed, especially on the ground in Haredi communities, by leaders who are committed to the entrenched status quo. Without a constant light on the importance of education for Haredi children, this disinformation will continue to spread. Further, it is only with this outside pressure that these leaders will realize that their control is relegated to within their communities.
- The Legal Process – YAFFED leverages the power of the courts to compel government action whenever necessary. One example of this: when the New York City Department of Education(DOE) dragged along their investigation into failing yeshivas for 7+ years, we filed a motion with the State Education Department advocating for the report to be completed. The State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa took note, and ordered the DOE to complete their investigation with a firm deadline.
- Organizing – Lasting change is best supported by the community. We identify and organize community members to be agents of change, bringing together like-minded people who share a commitment to improving basic education in yeshivas, leveraging their varying areas of expertise to contribute to our movement, and gaining strength in numbers.
- Power Building – Our work has garnered a number of influencers in support of YAFFED’s movement, increasing our power within the broader Jewish community and beyond. By galvanizing Jewish leaders, institutions, and education organizations in support of our mission, we magnify our ability to create lasting change.
Combined, these approaches bring us closer every day to finally achieving our goal: providing every Haredi child with the education they deserve.
Timeline
Yaffed is founded by Naftuli Moster and graduates of Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox yeshivas. They begin meeting with state and local education officials to inform them about the issue and their responsibilities under the “substantial equivalency” law.
Yaffed sends out first newsletter and begins receiving coverage in Jewish community press.
Yaffed launches its first billboard campaign.
Naftuli Moster and Yaffed are profiled by the New York Times, bringing national attention to education in yeshivas.
Ami Magazine, an ultra-Orthodox publication, publishes an advertisement from Yaffed, sparking backlash from yeshiva leaders.
Yaffed sends to the Department of Education a letter signed by 52 yeshiva graduates and parents alleging educational neglect in 39 yeshivas in New York City. The following day, the city announces it will launch an investigation.
For the first time, Yaffed appears before the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) and addresses concerns directly to the NYC Schools’ Chancellor.
Yaffed releases a report, the first of its kind, detailing the scope and seriousness of the problem.
New York State Education Department releases guidelines for enforcing substantial equivalency.
Yaffed hires its fourth full-time staff member, reaching the highest capacity in its history.
In response to a technical decision by a state court to strike down the guidelines, the State Education Department proposes regulations to begin enforcing substantial equivalency.
Yaffed hosts its first dinner event, honoring State Senator Robert Jackson, Anita Altman, Eric Huang, and Sandy Weichman. The next day, the New York City Department of Education finally released the results of investigation, confirming that the vast majority of the Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox yeshivas they visited were not providing
Testimonials
