Seminary and Yeshivah, Suddenly Out of Reach?

Seminaries and girls’ programs are the most exposed to the Masa cuts, as a glance through the Jewish studies section on the Masa website shows. That’s because the requirements placed by Masa on participating institutions bar regular yeshivos from qualifying.

Nevertheless, significant numbers of “shanah alef” yeshivah programs will lose funding. Rabbi Dovid Rosman, director of Yeshivas Aish HaTorah, says there are many parents already struggling who are extremely worried about additional funding.

“There’s so much financial pressure at the moment,” he says. “And because Masa told us so late in the game, only weeks before Elul zeman starts, even students who were needs-based were accepted based on the assumption that last year’s funding would be in place. We can’t tell students not to come, so schools will have to swallow it, but it will affect their ability to function because of lack of funds.”

Shaping the Narrative

The Masa email that is giving seminary heads sleepless nights appears as though it is part of a PR campaign by Masa bosses to shape the narrative around the cuts. Shortly after the email was sent, articles appeared in Ha’aretz and Jerusalem Post quoting a Jewish Agency press release denying specific cuts to Jewish studies programs.