Orthodox Insist Teachers Have Right to Wear Yarmulkes in Schools

Two Orthodox Jewish leaders here today strongly criticized a Board of Education Decision that would prohibit Jewish teachers from wearing yarmulkas in public schools. The Board recently rescinded a similar regulation applying to students.

In a joint statement, Moses I. Feuerstein, president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, and Rabbi Israel Miller, president of the Rabbinical Council of America said that the prohibition on the wearing of yarmulkes by teachers is a “violation of their individual religious freedom and a denial of the basic tenets of our Bill of Rights.” Rabbi Miller and Mr. Feuerstein said that about 2,000 Jewish teachers in the public school system were Orthodox.