New York State Representative Simcha Eichenstein reacted angrily to a question about education in religious Jewish schools from a New York Times reporter.
Eichenstein held a conference yesterday in support of New York mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, along with fellow New York City Councilman Kalman Yeger..
During the conference, New York Times reporter Liam Stack asked Eichenstein about his his thoughts an the investigation against yeshivas which are allegedly not providing an equivalent level of secular education.
“I actually take issue with that question,” said Eichenstein, who said that only a small number of yeshivas are under investigation.
“Five out of 275 is a pretty good ratio," he said. “And I challenge any school system to match that.”
He then pointed out the low proficiency rates in the School District 20 public school system, where only three percent of fifth graders have reached proficiency.
“Perhaps the New York Times should do a story about that,” said Eichenstein, calling the state of the New York public school system "criminal neglect."