New Jewish school in Manhattan deluged with applications in wake of October 7 attacks on Israel

A new Jewish school has been deluged with five times the applications it can accommodate in the wake of antisemitism after the October 7 attack on Israel. Emet Classical Academy — its name is the Hebrew word “truth” — is opening this September on the Upper East Side, and officials say the school had more interest than they have seats.

“Since the announcement a few weeks ago we have received hundreds of admissions inquiries from families with kids … at elite secular private schools, Jewish day schools, public schools and G&T [gifted and talented] programs,” Rabbi Abraham Unger, head of the school for grades 6 12, told The Post.

The school, founded by conservative non profit religious organization The Tikvah Fund, will accept between 36 and 40 students per grade its first year, according to Tikvah CEO Eric Cohen. Kira Krieger Senders, 52, has applied for a spot for her 10 year old son, who is currently in fifth grade at PS6 on the Upper East Side.

She told The Post that, while she’s been pleased with her son’s public school promoting shared values, she has concerns as he enters middle school. “The biggest fear I have is antisemitism. I do fear that my child will be targeted with some type of antisemitic rhetoric or action or sentiment that I don’t want him to have to deal with when he’s in school,” Krieger Senders, who is Jewish, said, adding that she experienced anti Jewish remarks from a longtime friend following the Oct.

7 Hamas attack. Emet plans to offer a curriculum rooted in Western civilization and led by Unger, a political scientist and former professor. “Our laser focus on the core ideas and texts of Western civilization makes us unique in the current educational marketplace — and certainly very different than what is happening in most other New York City public and private schools,” Unger told The Post.

“The goal is simple: to forge citizens who will strengthen American civic life and make great contributions to every field of human endeavor.” Emet names “the spirit of American citizenship” as one of its seven founding pillars. Students will study Hebrew, Greek and Latin in addition to the arts and sciences, along with “a strong connection to Zionism and modern Israel” and general “military history.” In December, The Post reported the city Department of Education received more than 850 complaints about James Parra, a paraprofessional at Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School, who shared a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a keffiyeh scarf.

The caption read: “It’s a good time to remind ya’ll that Palestine will be free from the river to the sea within our lifetime.” He also called Israel a “racist” and “terrorist” state in a separate post. Such anti Jewish remarks prompted Krieger Senders to seek a school where her son will not only be safe, but also learn how to handle antisemitism in the world at large.

“You can’t control what the [city] department of education is going to teach your kid,” she said. “I believe that a school like Emet is going to arm my son with the knowledge and the wherewithal that he’ll be able to have a conversation with someone who is antisemitic and maybe even convince them otherwise.” Krieger Senders also said she believes Emet will help her son develop critical thinking skills free of biases: “I want my son to get out of high school and be able to think on his own, and not be convinced by someone else that this is what he should be believe.” Another Manhattan based mom with two daughters in middle and high school said her family is interested in Emet for the same reason.

“A lot of parents are concerned that the schools are teaching in an ideologically driven way. DEI is infusing the curriculum in a way that overwhelms the learning itself. The idea of Emet is not a rejection of DEI — but it’s not making education exist through the lens of DEI,” the mom, who asked to withhold her name, told The Post.

Tuition for Emet is $36,000 per year, according to the application seen by The Post, with merit scholarships available. Families of any religious background are encouraged to apply. “Emet Classical Academy will begin as a single citadel school in New York City, with the hope of seeding a much larger Jewish classical movement,” Cohen told The Post.

“We are living in a moment of great Jewish awakening in America. Many Jewish families and students feel the weight of Jewish history more deeply than ever.”.