As a rabbi, I am worried about the damage being done to my community by ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools

Just because illegal faith schools are not harming the wider public does not mean that they do no harm. Children whose horizons are blinkered cannot flourish

An investigation by the Independent revealed that illegal faith schools had been operating (Getty)

The Independent’s investigation into illegal ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools throws out into the open what has long been a poorly kept secret in the Jewish world. In essence, there are a number of illegal schools in London which fail to provide the basic level of education which children deserve, whether it be command of English, understanding of mathematics, awareness of wider society or the ability to be able to enter the workplace.

There are many concerns about what happens in these schools, including whether corporal punishment is being allowed to occur, along with other allegations of serious neglect. What is even more astonishing is that the local authorities, and perhaps those in Whitehall, may have known about their existence yet have failed to take action. We must ask why.

There are several possible reasons. One is that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community form a significant percentage of the local population and have some of their members on the local council. There may be fear among councillors that, if they take action against the schools, they will be punished for it at the next elections.

Another possibility, which might apply to those higher up the educational chain, is that closing the schools could be branded as anti-Semitism. While there is no doubt that the schools are breaking the law, it may be judged that the volatile state of religious and ethnic relations in Britain means that now is not the best time for bold steps.There may also be a simple calculation that, frankly, it is not worth intervening.

What are the children studying instead of English and Maths? They are spending up to eight hours a day immersed in rabbinic texts about matters of internal Jewish life, such as how to determine an animal is fit to eat or whether it is permissible to carry house-keys on the Sabbath. In other words, they are not doing anything that poses a threat to British society.

To put it bluntly, none of those children will end up as suicide bombers. On the contrary, the ultra-Orthodox community is renowned for being law-abiding, with negligible rate rates of drunkenness, drugs or violence. From the authorities’ point of view, they are a very peaceful community, so why upset the applecart when there are plenty of other groups who are perceived as posing a potential danger?

This may all be true, but it ignores the fact that such schools do a major disservice to the children who attend them by denying them a rounded education. Just because the schools are not harming the wider public does not mean that they do no harm.

The findings of The Independent’s investigation reveal three major issues in the Government’s response. First, why is it not insisting that the rules that apply to most children apply to all children? Second, why is it not concerned about the best interests of the children at these illegal schools?

The third question is much broader and goes to the heart of many assumptions in our education system, which are too often left unchallenged: why do we allow segregation along religious lines in schools in the first place? How can we educate children to value those who are different to themselves if we separate them from each other and give them terrible message of “us and them” every time they enter the school gate?

There is no reason why one cannot be immersed in Jewish life, but still speak the national language or be able to gain qualifications. As a rabbi I applaud those engaged in Jewish education, but as a rabbi I also condemn those who blinker children’s horizons and isolate them from wider society.

Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain is chair of the Accord Coalition, which links religious and secular groups to promote inclusive education