Parent Urges Board to Recognize and Fund Jewish Student Alliance at MHS

Nicholas Mistretta

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP — During public comment at the recent Board of Education meeting, Montgomery resident Elliot Sambol questioned why the Jewish Student Alliance (JSA) at Montgomery High School remains “formally unrecognized and unfunded” nearly four years after students launched the club.

Samuel, who has lived in the township since 2009 and has three children (one MHS graduate from 2024, one current senior, and one freshman attending Pennington), said the JSA began in the summer of 2022 as a student-led effort to provide a space to celebrate Jewish culture and traditions and to help Jewish students connect with peers and feel included. He said the club was conceived in the same spirit as other cultural organizations at the high school and has always welcomed any student interested in learning about Jewish culture.

According to Sambol, the JSA initially moved forward without funding and with volunteer support from a faculty adviser, Matthew Flug, who, he said, was not compensated at the time. Students created bylaws, elected a board, and held meetings that ranged from social gatherings to cooking Jewish cuisine and discussing current events.

Sambol said the club’s role became especially important after October 7, 2023, when news from abroad prompted difficult conversations for many students. He characterized the district’s first community message as insufficient and said a follow-up message was sent after he contacted the Board president. In that period, Samuel said, the JSA gave students “a safe place to express their feelings,” and membership grew.

Sambol told the Board that, as of 2025, the club is still not funded. He added that, because of “an impasse with negotiations,” the faculty adviser is no longer able to serve, leaving the JSA without an adviser and unable to meet. He asked the Board to explain why the club remains unfunded and unrecognized after nearly four years.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com