Thousands of Charedi Jews have signed a petition against the proposed regulation of yeshivot that was handed in to the Department for Education this week.

It is the latest move against the measures contained in the Schools Bill, following a demonstration in Parliament two weeks ago that organisers say attracted 600 people.

The centenarian Stamford Hill yeshivah head, Rabbi Elyokim Schlesinger, signed a cover letter for the petition addressed to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi.

Levi Weiss, of the Rabbinical Committee for Traditional Charedi Chinuch (education), which has been at the forefront of the protests, said: “The Charedi population in the UK has been hit by shock since the contents and objectives of the proposed Schools Bill became known last month.

"A sense of fear was felt in the air, particularly in the large population centres of London and Manchester, with many special public prayer sessions held in the wake of this new anti-religious and antisemitic wave in education."

Naftoli Friedman, an executive member of the committee, said, “DfE expectations to transform our religious centres into ordinary schools is ridiculous. They are well aware, many current school regulations are in contradiction with our religion.”

Up to 1,500 boys from the age of 13 to 16 are estimated to be learning in unregistered yeshivot in Stamford Hill - which are currently not legally defined as schools because of their exclusively religious curriculum and so remain exempt from inspections.

The Schools Bill is designed to close loopholes and treat institutions such as yeshivot as independent schools, which would compel them to teach some secular subjects as well as comply with requirements for relationships and sex education. They would also be subject to inspections from Ofsted.

But objectors argue that the plans are an attack on religious freedom and the rights of parents to educate children according to their deeply-held beliefs.

In response, the DfE did not comment on Mr Weiss's assertions but pointed to previously published government guidance on the aims behind the Bill, which stated: "Provided they comply with the regulatory regime, the proposals do not prevent the operation of settings serving people of particular faith groups making full time provision for children (such as yeshivas providing a religious education to people with ultra-Orthodox Jewish faith) or indeed any non-religious settings that operate on the same basis."

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