The post Watch: Rabbi Labish Becker – Ki Seitzei 5786: “Perfect Parents, Perfect Children” first appeared on Agudath Israel of America.

Following passage of the state budget, it was initially understood that nonpublic school students would be excluded from participating in the state’s free meal program. Agudath Israel’s Connecticut office, in partnership with the CT Catholic Conference, advocated for the Connecticut Department of Education to interpret the bill’s language to ensure that nonpublic school students would have access to the same free breakfast benefits and state-funded reduced-price lunch support available to their public-school peers.

Ultimately, the Department of Education agreed with Agudath Israel and the CT Catholic Conference’s interpretation of the bill’s language. As a result, nonpublic school students will now be eligible for these much-needed funds.

“We are grateful for the Department of Education working with us to ensure that all students, regardless of what type of school they attend, will have access to these basic nutrition supports,” said Ari Weisenfeld, director of Agudath Israel’s Connecticut office.

The post Joint Advocacy Ensures Connecticut Nonpublic School Students Receive Free Breakfast and Reduced-Price Lunch Coverage first appeared on Agudath Israel of America.

Detroit saw one of Agudath Israel’s most comprehensive and intensive get-out-the-vote efforts to date. Led by Hy Safran and supported by a team of more than 40 volunteers, the campaign engaged community members for weeks ahead of the election, resulting in unprecedented participation. Forty-four percent of the community voted early, compared to 17% statewide. Final turnout statewide was 30.7%, and while the state has not yet published final data, Agudath Israel’s analysis and voter tracking indicate that roughly 70% of the community turned out, approaching the approximately 75% turnout in the 2024 presidential election.

Agudath Israel-led efforts in St. Louis and Minneapolis produced similarly strong results. In St. Louis, the campaign spanned the entire St. Louis County Orthodox Jewish community, crossing two congressional districts, with more than 40% of voters casting early ballots — a figure that far outpaces typical early-voting participation rates and reflects coordinated outreach by community rabbonim, lay leaders, and volunteers. This marks the second consecutive high-turnout election for the community, following similarly strong participation in the closely watched 2024 Bell-Bush congressional primary underscoring that this level of engagement is a durable, repeatable pattern rather than a one-time result. In Minneapolis, more than 40% of voters likewise cast early ballots, reflecting the same coordinated outreach model.

“Orthodox Jewish communities across the country continue to demonstrate that are civically engaged constituents that understand the importance of a strong turnout,” said Ari Weisenfeld, Director of State Relations for Agudath Israel of America. “Turnout like this doesn’t go unnoticed. Elected officials, and future candidates, understand that a community this engaged is one worth getting to know and understand.”

These campaigns are part of Agudath Israel’s longstanding, nationwide effort to register and mobilize Orthodox Jewish voters, building on decades of nonpartisan civic engagement work in communities across the country.

The post Agudath Israel Helps Drive Extraordinary Turnout in St. Louis, Detroit, and Minneapolis Orthodox Jewish Communities in 2026 Primary Elections first appeared on Agudath Israel of America.

The post Watch: Rabbi Labish Becker – Shoftim 5786: “Planting the Right Tree” first appeared on Agudath Israel of America.

August 11, 2026 – 28 Av, 5786

Today, the 28th of Av, is the 25th yahrzeit of Rav Avrohom Yaakov Pam zt’l.

Rav Avrohom Yaakov Pam zt’l, revered Rosh Hayeshiva of Mesivta Torah Vodaas, was a beloved Rebbe to thousands of talmidim. Known for his exceptional midos, Rav Pam was referred to by many as “the Chofetz Chaim of his generation.”

In addition to his busy role in Torah Vodaas, Rav Pam lent his name and his energies to numerous Klal Yisroel causes. To name just a few: He served as the Nasi of Chinuch Atzma’i in America. He was a member of the Vaad Roshei Yeshiva of Torah Umesorah. He was the founder and ongoing leader of Shuvu, an organization that has established boys and girls schools for thousands of Russian Jewish children in Eretz Yisroel. He was deeply involved in the work of Nechomas Yisroel, an organization dedicated to rescuing Jewish children in America from spiritually dangerous public school environments.

Rav Pam also served as an active member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel of America, where he played a major role in dealing with challenges facing Klal Yisroel and in setting policy for the organization. He participated in many organizational events, including most notably the annual conventions of Agudas Yisroel. One of the highlights of those conventions was Rav Pam’s eagerly anticipated keynote address, where he would speak over and over again, passionately and poetically, about the imperative of ehrlich’keit, about the importance of sholom bayis, and above all about building Torah around the corner and around the world.

Read:

A Rebbe for Our Generation

By Rabbi Yisroel Reisman – From the December 2001 edition of the Jewish Observer.

Click here to read and download a printable PDF.

After the Churban: The Groundswell of Love

Based on an address by Rav Pam Zt”l at the 62nd Agudah Convention – From the February 1985 edition of the Jewish Observer.

Click here to read and download a printable PDF.

To Merit a Swift Redemption: Timely, Even Early, But Not Premature

Based on an address to talmidim by Rav Pam Zt”l – From the March 1987 edition of the Jewish Observer.

Click here to read and download a printable PDF.

Watch:

Honesty and Integrity: Are We Living up to Our Ideals?

Rav Avrohom Yaakov Pam zt”l, Thursday Evening at the 1989 Agudah National Convention

Click here to watch.
 

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“Houses of worship are sacred spaces. The Right to Worship Act helps protect Americans of all faiths by creating a 100-foot buffer zone around houses of worship and imposes civil penalties on those trying to disrupt or impede those gathering for religious services,” said Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs for Agudath Israel. “Unfortunately, recent incidents in front of synagogues around the country highlight the need for additional protections. We thank Senators Cruz and Slotkin and Representatives Knott and Suozzi for sponsoring the bill and we urge Congress to advance this important piece of legislation.”

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Before the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, Agudath Israel of America called on MTA’s leadership to curtail the ubiquitous advertisements for an adults-only “museum” it carries on the front of its fleet of New York City buses, warning that the ads are offensive to many riders, troubling for parents, and inappropriate for children who encounter them in public spaces.

Avrohom Weinstock, Agudath Israel’s Chief of Staff, delivered testimony at the MTA board meeting, urging the agency to reconsider its role in promoting an adult-oriented venue on mass transit vehicles used and viewed daily by families, children, and commuters.

This testimony followed months of advocacy, including a four-page legal letter the Agudah sent to MTA leadership last month.

Significantly, in a written response to the Agudah’s outreach, the MTA stated that the offensive ads would rotate off the MTA system within 60 days. While Agudath Israel has not been shown the contract, several news sources have reported that the MTA’s sizable contract with the museum for its city buses was scheduled to run through the end of the year.

This development is even more meaningful because, for its next phase, the museum stated it was planning to expand its advertising campaign with the MTA to span the entire exterior of buses and include more explicit imagery. Pushback at this, more limited, phase was therefore even more important.

Agudath Israel urged the MTA to apply its own advertising standards, which restrict advertisements that promote certain adult-oriented services, and includes a directive to “maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all MTA employees and customers, including minors, and that are respectful of New York City’s multicultural, multi-ethnic, religiously diverse population.” The Agudah does not believe that this campaign complies with these standards.

“Please curtail this offensive ad campaign” Mr. Weinstock said, “and dialogue with representative groups to head off such situations in the future.”

“I want to acknowledge numerous individuals and elected officials, including Assemblymen Kalman Yeger and Simcha Eichenstein, and Councilwoman Inna Vernikov who expressed the community’s deep concerns with these pervasive ads and urged the MTA to have them withdrawn,” said Mr. Weinstock, “and appreciate the MTA for engaging with us. There is more work to be done.”

“Many of the things the Agudah works on relate to material initiatives, like increasing security funding to NY nonpublic schools from $4.5 to $90 million since a decade ago, or playing a pivotal role in the passage of the federal scholarship tax credit,” said Rabbi David Zwiebel, Agudah’s executive vice president. “These are, of course, critical to the financial and safety needs of our community and mosdos. Yet here is an advocacy item with no material benefit to anyone, and yet so important to us because it helps, in some small way, parents to raise their children today with kedusha. That says something very special about who we are as a community.”

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