N. Y. State Scholarship Holders Allowed Year’s Study in Israel

The New York Board of Rabbis reported today it had obtained a reversal of a ruling by the New York State Education Department, which had barred high school graduates holding Regents scholarships from spending a year in Israel before taking advantage of the college scholarships.

The rabbis said the dropping of the ban was made known in a letter from Sherman N. Tinkelman, director of the division of educational testing of the State Education Department. The latter wrote the rabbis that “a leave of absence may now be granted for any reason that would improve the scholarship holder’s readiness to profit from college attendance,” and asserted that this applied to such students “who plan on a work or study program in Israel.”