I read Michael Rogovin’s letter, “My Response to Rabbi Daniel Alter” (May 22, 2025), regarding my endorsement of Yitz Stern and Rosemary Hernandez Carroll for State Assembly with great interest. He expresses concern about educators endorsing political candidates, arguing that our role is to “inculcate in students the virtue of civic participation and the idea that good people can disagree without being attacked…”
I agree wholeheartedly that this is one of our many responsibilities as educators. But I would argue that it is precisely for this reason that educators should be actively involved in the political process, in whatever ways they deem appropriate.
After 2,000 years of Jews being denied agency, we now live in a country that grants us the right to fully participate in the political process. This is a historic privilege, and it should not be taken for granted. I continue to be surprised that some in our community fail to recognize the importance of this moment and choose not to participate politically. While our community’s voter turnout has improved in recent years, it should be close to 100%. We need more leaders modeling civic engagement so that others are inspired to follow suit.
The last thing I would want to do when mentoring young people considering entering the rabbinate or the field of Jewish education is to ask them to agree to refrain from fully participating in the political process as a condition of their choosing these holy career paths. They should vote, endorse, canvass, and even run for office if they choose. These are their rights as American citizens.
A highly respected humanities teacher at my school—someone whose political views differ greatly from my own and with whom I regularly engage in meaningful conversations so that we can learn from each other—once asked me whether she could publicly express her views and advocate for a cause she believed in. She was concerned about how this might reflect on the school. I was emphatically supportive of her right, and indeed her responsibility, to participate in our democratic process.
There is another important reason I believe our community would benefit from more educators entering the political arena: We live in a time when civil discourse has deteriorated. People increasingly isolate themselves within ideological bubbles, viewing those with opposing views as adversaries rather than as fellow citizens, and assuming the worst about “the other side.” This is deeply harmful to our society.
Educators are uniquely positioned to reverse this trend by modeling respectful, thoughtful, and open political dialogue. We should treat each other with respect, listen actively, and engage in meaningful debates. What better way to fulfill Mr. Rogovin’s vision of “inculcating in students the virtue of civic participation and the idea that good people can disagree without being attacked” than to model this behavior ourselves?
Of course, such involvement must be approached thoughtfully and with clear boundaries. But this is true of many topics educators and school leaders navigate every day. To be clear: Neither I nor any teacher in my school would ever advocate for a political candidate in the classroom. That environment is for cultivating independent, critical thinking in our students—not for advancing a political agenda.
However, when it comes to engaging with other adults—people capable of making informed decisions based on argument and evidence—I believe educators, just like everyone else, can and should play a meaningful role in the political process, and that includes, among many other things, political endorsements.
