Life for the chareidi tzibur in Haifa has been somewhat difficult during the past year and things appear to be getting worse as Rosh Hashanah approaches.

Maybe the school year began, but it turns out that in Haifa, headed by Mayor Yona Yahav – which is under constant tension as he continues excluding chareidim, the story is just beginning. A series of findings are reported by Chadrei Chareidim, revealing a difficult picture of a municipality that stands as a stone against the chareidi development in Haifa.

“The facts illustrate a small and up-to-date part of the reality in which the life of institutions and the chareidi public in Haifa is being conducted”, sources in the chareidi community say.

And the facts:

The present case focuses mainly on the structure of the Vishnitz Chassidim. Members of the community rented a building for kindergartens and Talmud Torah on Herzl Street at the corner of Kishon. Until recently, the building housed a mattress store, zoned for commercial and residential purposes.

The shortage of buildings led the frum tzibur to rent the building and renovate it with a large investment. Renovations were completed shortly before the opening of the new school year.

According to senior chassidic officials, the renovations were undertaken after realizing buildings designated for public buildings in the Hadar neighborhood were not being released by City Hall as should have been the case. This compelled the Vishnitz community to initiate independent projects towards finding a solution for required classroom space.

Last week, however, askanim in the chassidish community received an order forbidding the use of the building, based on a misrepresentation presented by the municipality, according to which it was a “preservation structure.” Contrary to that stated in the order, the relevant affidavit from the conservation bodies was not attached to the municipality’s request, since the building does not appear at all in the list of buildings for preservation.

As of today, Vishnitz continues to carry out studies despite the injunction, while attempting a legal process that will set the record straight, due to the fact that the order means throwing more than 100 children into the street without a framework for continued studies.

The story of the municipality’s harassment is not over yet, and it continues regarding around the structure used for the Benaya kiruv yeshiva, which is intended for junior high school students and is active among young men who are growing stronger in their Yiddishkheit in the area. It was established by Rabbi Isser Sprei and local Kirov activists. The building is located on Nordau Street in the city, and as mentioned above it is a kiruv-type religious unit. Over the years, until the arrival of the building, the building was used for academic studies within the framework of a local college.

The physical condition of the building did not enable its continued operation, and the yeshiva administration renovated the place with great investment as the students entered it during the summer months.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)