New York Times played into ‘age-old trope of Jewish power’ in its Hasidic schools series, ADL says

The New York Times' months of coverage on New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community pushed antisemitic tropes and fed stereotypes, the head of the Anti-Defamation League said.

"We have the right to voice our outrage at this coverage," said Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of ADL, which was founded in 1913 to combat antisemitism and defamation of Jews in America. "We have an obligation to a community that is under siege to state clearly and consistently that this is not acceptable and to demand that the paper that serves the largest urban Jewish community in the world endeavor to do better when addressing the issues facing that community."

Beginning in September, the Times published a series of investigative stories about New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community’s boys schools, also known as yeshivas. The reporting singled out schools run by the Hasidic community — a group that falls under the Orthodox Jewish umbrella. 

Over several articles, the Times pointed out failing standardized test scores, lack of secular education and the amount of public funding the schools take. The reporting also included interviews with former members of the community who alleged they were forced to keep their children in the yeshivas because of the power wielded by community leaders and claimed the local government turns a blind eye away from corruption because of the community’s influence.

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Greenblatt said the articles included antisemitic tropes regarding Jewish power, money and its communal nature. He believes these tropes could encourage antisemitic behavior.

"It is not just disappointing, it’s irresponsible that The New York Times took an issue that merits investigation, that necessitates serious exploration and framed it in such a way, which I think, again, isn’t just unhelpful, it can encourage more antisemitism," he said.

He pointed to reporting in the articles that he said depicts Jews as "clannish" and "using its power to manipulate events."

In one of the Times’ articles, while discussing funding for the yeshivas, the authors report that the schools "appear to be operating in violation of state laws" and find "ways of tapping into enormous sums of government money." They add that "city and state officials have avoided taking action, bowing to the influence of Hasidic leaders who push their followers to vote as a bloc and have made safeguarding the schools their top political priority."

That reporting, according to Greenblatt, is an issue.

"This plays right into the age-old trope of Jewish power that Jews have some level agenda and are trying to manipulate things behind the scenes," he said. 

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Greenblatt also criticized the Times’ depiction of Jewish education. He said it questions "whether or not these kids are actually practically trained for the world."

While he said the issues with yeshivas can be discussed, he believes the Times should have reported in a way that "doesn’t feed the age-old trope of Jewish legitimacy."

"Whether it's the Jewish people who are legitimate, whether it's the Jewish state that's legitimate, now it's Jewish education that's not legitimate," he said. "Like, again, they played right into that age-old trope in a way that I think was really irresponsible."

The Times did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Antisemitism on the rise

There were 51 reported antisemitic assaults in New York City in 2021, according to the ADL — the highest its ever recorded. Nationwide, there were 2,717 reported antisemitic incidents, a 34% increase in incidents from 2020.

"Sadly, it's the Orthodox community that is most frequently attacked because, again as I was kind of alluding to, they are the most visible Jews," Greenblatt said.

Despite Hasidic Jews being the subject of the Times' series, Greenblatt believes that the repercussions for the reporting will affect the entire Orthodox community. 

"Whether they derive you as this kind of Jew or that kind of Jew, the through line for all of this animus is antisemitism, and so when you indeed create an environment, that becomes open season on the orthodox community," said the leader of the largest organization focused on combating antisemitism in America. "Make no mistake, it may start with that community but it encompasses all Jews."

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A group representing the Orthodox Jewish community fired back at the Times with a public campaign last month that included billboards around Manhattan to counter what it deemed a "crusade" against its community.

Greenblatt clarified that stereotyping Orthodox Jews can lead to scapegoating and that he doesn't believe the reporting is necessarily responsible for more antisemitism. But he said the reporting was "irresponsible" in an environment where anti-Jewish hatred is on the rise.

"We may expect that from some politicians who posture. We may expect that from some celebrities who are ignorant or intolerant or both, but we don’t expect that from journalists or an institution like the New York Times," he said.

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'I know that they heard. I'm not sure that they listened'

Before the articles ran, the ADL warned the Times to consider the impact of their reporting, according to Greenblatt.

"We implored them to think about the potential for the series of articles to actually evoke and stoke stereotypes about Jews if it wasn’t done right," Greenblatt told Fox News, adding that his organization did not attempt to stop the reporting. "You can probe and push without promoting prejudice."

He added that he wanted the Times to be sensitive to antisemitic tropes and the complexity of the Orthodox community in the same way "they appear to be sensitive to issues of race or class or other dimensions of diversity." Greenblatt also said the series should include the positive aspects of religious schooling and critical thinking promoted by Talmudic learning. 

Although top executives at the paper heard his concerns, Greenblatt told Fox News that he is unsure if they listened.

"Hearing is the act of intaking audible information. In my mind listening requires processing and hopefully responding," he said. "I know that they heard, I'm not sure that they listened.

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Fox News previously covered the Times’ fraught history of covering Jews, including publishing antisemitic cartoons, using freelancers who praised Adolf Hitler and bias coverage on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"So the bottom line is that people shouldn’t generalize across the entire Hasidic community because of some who do the wrong thing," Greenblatt said. "The New York Times, as the arguably leading newspaper in the country, serving inarguably the largest Jewish community in the country should get this very basic thing right."

To see more about the ADL's response to the New York Times' investigation, click here.