We believe that you owe the entire Englewood-Tenafly community a sincere apology for your damaging and factually incorrect article concerning the Moriah School (“Increased Competition Shakes Up N.J. Schools,” April 12).
We feel compelled to address your egregious misstatements concerning our community at large.
You claim in your article: “… Moriah may also be hurting, observers speculate, because while the Orthodox population is growing in Teaneck and Bergenfield, Englewood’s Orthodox community is not increasing…”
Consider the facts regarding Englewood’s Orthodox synagogues:
♦Congregation Ahavath Torah, the largest synagogue in the area, welcomed 98 new member families between 2008 and 2012.
♦East Hill Congregation experienced more than 20 percent growth in membership during the same period of time.
♦Kehillat Kesher of Englewood and Tenafly, founded only in 2001, has 140 member families, has seen a growth of over 30 families in the last three years alone, and continues to grow.
♦Congregation Shomrei Emunah has experienced 13 percent growth over the last two years.
These statistics hardly reflect an Orthodox community that “is not increasing.”
Your second claim, “… Moriah, where all classes are co-ed, is on the left wing of Orthodoxy…” is no less erroneous. Moriah does separate the genders in Jewish studies.
Inasmuch as Moriah is often seen as a reflection of the Englewood community as a whole, we feel that it is important to set the record straight. Rather than “left wing,” we are actually a community that welcomes all Jews. Because of that, many who might have felt uncomfortable in other Orthodox neighborhoods find a spiritual home in Englewood, and their journeys towards increased observance have enriched their lives.
You have done our proud, inclusive community a grave disservice.
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Congregation Ahavath Torah
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
Rabbi Chaim Poupko, Associate Rabbi
Lee Lasher, President
East Hill Synagogue
Rabbi Zev Reichman
Gabriel Bousbib, President
Congregation Shomrei Emunah
Rabbi Menachem Genack
Mark Finkel, President
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