Critics who say the schools don’t provide an adequate secular education accused the de Blasio administration of dragging its feet to retain support of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Belgian playwright Ismael Saidi is taking his anti-radicalization message to schools in heavily Muslim neighborhoods. He finds extremism still has appeal, even after last week's terrorist attacks.
“Hateful” messages came after high school students were asked to copy the Islamic declaration of faith in Arabic calligraphy for a lesson on world religions.
An interactive program, developed for teachers and students, is aimed at training them to prevent young people from being drawn into violent extremism. However some religious leaders say it only focuses on Islamic extremism.
(Reuters) Local churches and other groups are offering to house the portrait, which had hung in the school since at least the 1950s, and community leaders have been working to defuse anger over its removal.