The Jerusalem Planning Board approved a plan for a forestry/park area in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem and as a result, the plan to build 1,400 apartments in the community has been scrapped. The District Planning Board approved the apartments, but Mayor Nir Barkat objected, wishing to advance the park which will also serve as a hub for cultural events in the future.

Chareidi councilmen oppose the mayor’s plan, explaining the immediate need for additional apartments in the city at large, including Ramot. It is explained that in this vote, the fact that Councilmen Yitzchak Pindrus was not present permitted the city to pass the park plan at the expense of the apartments.

Chareidi representatives in City Hall accuse the city of promoting the park plan simply to curtail the growth of the chareidi community in Ramot.

Five chareidim attended the meeting; Yisrael Kellerman, Chaim Epstein, Michael Michaeli, and Yochanan Weizman [who is replacing Yossi Deutsch who is out of the country]. There were also five representatives from the dati and non-religious sectors so the vote passed by the chairman using his double vote – in this case Meir Turgeman. Absent from the meeting was Degel Hatorah Councilman Yitzchak Pindrus, who is also abroad.

Epstein was quite vocal, accusing them of masking their disdain for chareidim with concerns for nature and preserving the greenery of Ramot.

Explaining the events from a different perspective, Pindrus told Kikar Shabbos News he is only supposed to fill in for Bayit Yehudi Councilman Dov Kalmanovich and as per the agreement, he may not vote contrary to his position on matters of principle. Pindrus shifts the probe to the Shas camp, explaining that Shas has only one representative on the planning board while according to the division of authority the party is entitled to two.

Perhaps in an effort to minimize the damage, one chareidi official explains the planned housing was not suitable for chareidim because it called for tall buildings which are not in line with the lifestyle of frum families. He feels the battle is not between City Hall and chareidim, but between Barkat and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.

Mayor Barkat’s office explains that the mayor remains committed to preserving the green areas of the capital but side-by-side, the city is also committed to constructing an additional 30,000 apartments – to be constructed in areas that are not subject to controversy.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)