Letter from ‘250 clergy’ appears to include at least five unauthorized signatures.

By Adam Dickter

March 12, 2014

A group launched by Mayor Bill de Blasio to push his tax-raising plan for universal pre-K included the names of several rabbis in an open letter last week without their permission, the rabbis told The Jewish Week.

In interviews since the clergy letter was released by the grassroots UPKNYC on March 6, five rabbis said their inclusion was not authorized, although two of them asked not to be named publicly because they did not want to antagonize the mayor.

The Jewish Week was unable to confirm the consent of seven other rabbis, mostly Orthodox and all Brooklyn-based, who did not return calls or refused to comment. Six of the 18 rabbis listed in the letter confirmed they authorized their inclusion.

To read the rest of this article in The Jewish Week, click here.