Rabbonim have sent an urgent letter to Jerusalem Municipality officials calling on them not to destroy the two mikvaos that have been serving the Old City for over 30 years. The letter is signed by a number of rabbonim including HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl Shlita, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Shlita and the Pinsk-Karlin Rebbe Shlita.
The rabbonim point out the closure of the mikvaos will cause undue hardship on residents and “thousands of bnei Torah”, pointing out that prior to destroying a building with kedusha, a replacement must be built.
The rabbonim explain that if the mikvaos cannot be refurbished in stages and permit men to continue toiveling, then the plan should be abandoned and permit the mikvaos to remain as they are today.
Responding to the letter, City Hall officials point out there are no plans to “destroy’ and mikve, but to refurbish them because of the deteriorating condition that exists. The city plans to provide a solution to residents during construction, and efforts to find a solution for the men continue.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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Wow the beginning of this story is so wrong….
The Rabbonim shlita are protesting the change in plans of the refurbishment which instead of leaving the Old City with a usable mens mikve for the duration of the refurbishment will result in the closure of the mikve until the refurbishment is done.
While the original plans (according to the letter spread in the Old City) provided for refurbishing the mens’ mikve in a staged way that would allow it to keep functioning the new plans call for several month of closure.
For the womens’ mikve there is no problem it is moving into a new location, as for the men the shuvu banim mikve is 2 minutes from the current mens’ mikve…