While it is not written on the poster advertising the new park and petting zoo, residents of Givat Shmuel and Petach Tikvah who phoned the number to order tickets in the newly-opening Bnei Brak park were unable to do so because their identity numbers were no recognized by the automated system. Bnei Brak residents however are able to order a place in the new park, leading one to believe the computer detects if one’s identity number is that of a resident or non-resident.

Bnei Brak residents were quick to shout “discrimination against chareidim” when Givat Shmuel announced its park was closed to non-residents. For residents of neighboring Bnei Brak, it was clear this was aimed at chareidim. This led to a probe by Interior Minister (Shas) Aryeh Deri into the legality of the move and this was followed by an announcement from Givat Shmuel City Hall that the park is open to all, including non-residents, with the exception of limited areas.

One must now question if Bnei Brak is doing the same, albeit, without announcing it as official policy regarding the city’s new park, which includes a petting zoo. The advert states one must call to arrange tickets in advance, and the number of participants is limited to 200. In addition, the number of visitors during the season may not exceed 14,000, the advert signed by Mayor Chanoch Zeibert reads, clearly stating “first come first served”.

Kikar Shabbos News adds that at the same time, residents of Bnei Brak are complaining, stating the automated response assigns them dates and times for their visit to the new park, often when inconvenient for them, not permitting a caller to determine the date/time of a visit.

Kikar adds it contacted Bnei Brak City Hall but a response was not received by publication time.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)