
YeshivaWorld News on Thursday published an email that it claims proves that a New York Times article bashing several Hasidic yeshivas in New York State for fraudulent subsidy applications contained information the Times knew was false from the outset.
The original investigation claimed that numerous yeshivas had applied for public grants to fund special education programs. Several of the yeshivas named in the investigation would later contact the Times to say that the number of students receiving special education was far less than the article indicated.
In an email from November 4, 2022 that YWN claims to be from the reporter behind the original investigation, Brian Rosenthal, Rosenthal asks state officials to speak about the discrepancy off the record:
"I also wanted to add that I've found that for some schools, the number of students that they have classified as special ed is higher than their overall enrollment. Basically I'm trying to square the special ed numbers and the school enrollment numbers," he writes.
"Please let me know if someone is available to speak with me off the record about this. I would really appreciate it," the email concludes.
YWN stated that this communication indicates that the Times was fully aware that its information was incorrect before publishing its report on the investigation.
A note from YWN explains that the discrepancy was likely due to cumulative, as opposed to current, enrollment records, and adds "The New York Times likes to conduct investigations. We suggest they undertake a thorough and transparent investigation of their coverage of the Orthodox community in New York."