The point of the Jewish Problems is that:

1. They're an entrance exam. They were explicitly designed to discriminiate against otherwise worthy candidates.

2. The key feature of the problems is that they are not difficult because they are an average example of a difficult branch of math. Instead they are easy problems, but they are only easy if you can figure out the correct substitution. Otherwise, they are extremely difficult. In other words, getting good at the problems won't make you a better mathematician, it'll just make you better at passing that particular test.

I was only agreeing with the parent that students need to pushed out of their comfort zone, but just a little. Not a lot like the Jewish Problems were doing.