When the heads of the shul serving the Ethiopian community of Kiryat Gat returned from Operation Protective Edge they were shocked to learn their beis Knesses was given away to a chareidi nonprofit. The shul leaders were among the tens of thousands called up to emergency military service and when they returned it became clear to them that they lost their shul.
According to a Srugim News report, Moshe Solomon, a leading figure in the city’s Ethiopian community a number of months ago he received a notice for a 70,000 shekel debt t to the electric company. “The building is the city’s and the latter is responsible to pay the electric bill. After a few days, without any notice, the electricity was turned off”.
Moshe and his colleagues tried their best, turning to Israel Electric Company to get the power turned on. Officials explained to them they did not initiative the cutting off of service to the shul but a request was received from Kiryat Gat City Hall to turn off the power. “Then we realized something was going on” Moshe is quoting explaining, adding Israel Electric received a letter requesting cutting off service to the shul.
Moshe then turned to City Hall in the hope of reaching the truth and having the power restored. He also asked to have the building transferred to the nonprofit that runs the shul since the structure was built to serve as a shul for the Ethiopian community. Moshe explains to his sorrow, nothing was done to assist him and the kehilla. He explained that the community could not raise the funds to pay the electric bill since they just used the money they had to refurbish the shul.
Moshe adds that Deputy Mayor Shulamit Salu is a member of the local Ethiopian community but she too did not appear willing to assist him and the kehilla. He insists she signed the letter that was sent to Israel Electric asking to have service cut off. He accuses her to spearheading the campaign against them because she has “her own agenda”.
“At the end, we paid the debt with 10 post-dated checks of 10,000 shekels” he adds, hoping they will raise the money one month at a time to cover the checks.
However Moshe’s troubles did not end. He explains that a day after the electric debt was paid the shul was handed over to a chareidi nonprofit affiliated with Shas. He admits they learned of the city’s actions too late and were therefore unable to take action to prevent it. Letters went unanswered and they found themselves without anyone of authority willing to assist.
Moshe emphasizes it did not end there for city officials arrived to change the locks to keep Moshe and his kehilla out. “We arrived for minyan and we couldn’t get in” he explained. “I simply cannot understand the hate davka now, in Elul”.
When asked to comment, Deputy Mayor Salu told Srugim that the shul was unable to pay its electric bill which it was responsible to pay and this compelled the city to act. She denies allegations of prejudice or hate towards the local Ethiopian community. She added that the shul had many other problems pertaining to the proper running of the shul, seeking to justify her actions.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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18 Responses
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef z’tz’l would never have allowed Shas to treat Ethiopian Jews this way.
The Ethiopians took the wrong approach. Had they shot missiles into Israel and kidnapped a few maybe they too like Hamas could have their electric bill forgiven. See how this works – Hamas owes Israel Electric 1.5 billion shekel no problem. A shul where many of its members went to defend the Jewish people against Hamas owes 70,000 shekel it gets its lights turned off. Only in Chelm, I mean Israel does this make sense.
YWN has hit a new low!
They’re spoon feeding (dis)info from srugim?!?!
cont..
Whether there is any solidity to the story is immaterial
So the entire “Country” of “Gaza” doesn’t pay their electric bill and everything is fine, but a small Shul used by a “minority” (remember, that is Shas’ broken record complaint: the Ashkenazim always discriminate against the minority minority minority!)was late with their payment and its stripped away from them?! There must be more to this story or something really stinks to high heaven.
No way Shas is going to keep the Shul! This can’t be so! This would certainly make Chacham Ovaadia turn over in his Admat Kodesh even more than the split party!
What a way to repay these chayalim who just laid their lives on the line on the battle field for the safety of these ingrates!
The latest polls (for what they are worth) show that Shas will shrink in the next elections from 11 seats to 7.
If they keep up this type of activity they will shrink even more.
The other Chareidi parties have alienated many of their own followers which has caused them to lose seats. If this keeps up the charedi parties will not only not enter back into the coalition, they will be deemed simply irrelevant.
A sad outcome of their own making.
I can say this with certainty. Any tefillos that members of the new Shul pray during the upcoming Yomim Noraim will go straight to the other side. תתבייש כולכם
And where does SHAS come in? How could they just take over an existing Shul without trying to see how they can help? I’m sure the Kehilla isn’t blameless, & it could be they didn’t act properly or on time, but surely this isn’t the way to do things.
to the best of my little knowledge R’ Moshe Solomon in the picture top left. is a yehudi yirei shamayim the head of a organization called hineni which seeks to create garinei torah for ethiopian jews. the idea being that in different cities across israel the ethiopian jews have lost the entire family and community bubble they had with which they preserved themselves and their mission together.. when they were in ityopia. they under a moreh halacha who is the rosh kehilla they do chagim torah and chesed together as a community together… he is without much doubt in my mind seemingly one of the future torah leaders for the large ethiopian community.. of eretz yisroel..
and he should be encouraged and supported.. in his work to ASSIMILATE the ethiopian jews under his care to authentic partners in shmiras hatorah vehamitzva im simcha v’hidur
Palestinians owe the Israel Electric Company $1.5 BILLION shekel and they continue getting electricity without a problem but no way would Israel Electric Co allow electricity to continue for a Jewish Shul that has a balance of 70,000 shekel and which must be turned off even without notification. Not surprising at all.
The Arabs don’t have to pay their electric bill, why should a Shul?
My, what a heart-warming story of compassion. OK, I get the unpaid bills issue, though the power company was apparently willing to work with these people.
So, these people go off to do their part to protect the country and while they’re away others figure out a way to evict them from the building.
I didn’t see a statement from the Shas party itself, so I wonder what they think about this. I recall that Shas made overtures to include the Ethiopian community in 2006 by appointing one of the Ethiopian rabbis from Beersheva to its list to the Knesset (Mazor Bahaina).
So why not shut off electricity to the Arabs who are way behind in payments???? What a chutzba to take a shul away from a kehilla,,,I venture to say there is more to this issue than what is reported.
Rov Soloveitchik z’tz’l did not like the idea of religious political parties in Israel. Maybe he was right.
#8 silentmoshe
Has there been a poll ever in the past two decades that refrained from claiming that Shas is going down(sometimes literally hours before being proven Sheker)?
Lest you assume this is exxagerating
Check it up please
#16
Ben gurion,marxist that he was,disliked the individual
He preferred dealing with movements