“A Not-So-Simple Majority” podcast
(Aired September 12, 2014)
Description: This podcast follows the story of a local political battle in the East Ramapo school district, a suburb of New York City, where a group of mostly low-income ultra-Orthodox Jews fought to take control of the relatively racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse school district. Although the past agreement had been that local officials would not have the private Orthodox Jewish schools, yashivas, investigated if their Orthodox Jewish neighbors would stay away from the polls, allowing school budgets to pass, this agreement fell apart. As the population of Hacitic and ultra-Orthodox Jewish people rose in East Ramapo and property taxes continued to climb, ultra-Orthodox Jews became frustrated with having to pay for their children to attend private yeshivas.
Topics/Themes:Democratic education