Officials affiliated with Talmid Torah Mishkan Shlomo in the Shmuel HaNavi area of the capital explain that when Deputy Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus decides to oust occupants from a building, the situation becomes extremely difficult very quickly. That appears to be the case for this school, under the leadership of HaGaon HaRav Yissacher Meir Mazuz, an institution primarily serving baalei tshuva, a yeshiva affiliated with Shas’ Mayan HaChinuch HaTorani system. Yeshiva officials report the deputy mayor has cut off electricity to the building.
According to the Kikar Shabbat report, the situation is not a simple one. Over recent years, the school has reported a waning registration, reaching a point that the Shas education system indicated it is time to shut its doors. Things have changed radically of late however, after a number of prominent askanim decided to intervene, and the yeshiva reports registration for 5772 has doubled, signaling better days ahead.
Receiving the new registration figures, the Ministry of Education has renewed the school’s license. Despite the good news however, it appears one of Jerusalem’s deputy mayors, a member of the chareidi community, has other plans for the building, unwilling to permit the yeshiva to continue operating in the coming school year.
School officials explain the story begins a number of weeks ago when they saw the building was advertised in a newspaper as the location for another yeshiva, by the name of “Yakiri Yisrael – HaBayit HaYehudi”. The school’s rabbonim explain they never received any notification from City Hall of such plans, to evict them, adding the city has been displeased with the yeshiva’s presence in the building for years and this was nothing new for them. It is pointed out that the Shas’ educational network also fulfilled its obligation, officially informing the city that the school is not closing as a result in the sharp increase in registration for the coming academic year.
Yeshiva officials explain they have learned the Deputy Mayor Pindrus, who also holds the chareidi education portfolio in the city, cut a deal with the new yeshiva, to move them to the building in the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood, all towards freeing up the building allocated to the Yakiri Yisrael Yeshiva, in the old Schneller army base complex in the heart of Geula. This will permit Pindrus to use that structure (Schneller complex) for a school that is “close to his heart”. Officials add that the Yakiri Yeshiva has fewer students registered for the coming year than Mishkan Shlomo, which is being expelled.
It appears that the city’s attorney general has become involved, and he reportedly informed Pindrus’ office that cutting electricity is simply illegal, ordering it turned on immediately. The electricity has been restored, and soon thereafter, the school’s administrators received a letter from City Hall explaining the city’s Chareidi Education Department is no longer responsible for any payments pertaining to Mishkan Shlomo, not past or present, including utilities and other payments usually budgeted by the city.
Shas education officials are signaling they plan to do whatever necessary to keep the yeshiva up and running. Officials in Pindrus’ office point out that they have been in contact with officials in Mayan HaChinuch HaTorani, and the current situation is nothing more than the annual rotation of buildings to best accommodate mosdos within the current reality of a building shortage – stressing all schools will receive appropriate housing as is required.
Pindrus officials add that when they met with Mayan HaChinuch representatives they were informed that Mishkan Shlomo was shutting its doors, leading to the decision to rotate schools and allocate that building to another yeshiva.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
I can tell you from a first hand daily experience that mishkan shimon is a school that has drug attics and kids way off the derech. it should NOT be in the middle of a chareidi neighborhood where the kids are on a daily basis mazik property and are a bad hashpaa on the local kids. just speak to the other 2 schools that are next to them and they will tell you how many windows are broken on a daily basis by the juvenile delinquents at mishkan shimon. r’ ovadia Yosef is behind them leaving since it is one of his schools that is right next to this horrible school.