Thursday marked the beginning of the new school year for Israel’s public school system, and this included the controversial Orot Girl’s School in Beit Shemesh. Sadly, fearing attacks from members of the chareidi community, the school’s opening necessitated a sizable police presence, headed by Beit Shemesh Deputy Police Commander Kobi Cohen, who explained police are taking threats against students seriously and police will remain for as long as necessary to make certain no one attacks the girls. Cohen added the department will be on hand at any school to ensure students and staff alike are protected and may attend school without fear from anyone.
There were a number of verbal confrontations on Thursday, but no reports of any physical violence.
Earlier in the week YWN-Israel reported that the chareidi community is demanding the school building, explaining that it is in their community and the girl’s have alterative venues that are more than acceptable, but the dati leumi community simply does not wish to accept other options.
Parents of students in Orot explained this is simply untrue, stating the school borders the chareidi area and in no way can one claim that it is situated “inside the chareidi area”.
Chareidi askanim explain their tzibur is growing and there simply is insufficient classroom space. Members of the dati leumi community explain that Orot is among the premier schools in the community and they have no intentions of abandoning the building, which was built by the former mayor of the city, adding the behavior of hooligans who are willing to hurl stones at fellow Jews is simply “unacceptable” to put it mildly.
MK (HaBayit HaYehudi) Zevulun Orlev praised the actions of police in an Israel Radio interview, stating the issue here is far more than the Orot School, but a matter of principle, adding “we must determine if law and order will prevail, or a band of non-Zionist law-breakers will be permitted to determine policy”.
Speaking to Radio Kol Chai, Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul stated he hopes the dispute will be solved with dialogue. He added that the school was supposed to be used by the dati leumi community for boys, and the last minute, the decision was made to use it for the Orot Girl’s School. The mayor expressed sorrow over the unacceptable incident, when chareidim broke into the school [earlier in the week], prompting the current crisis. He warned that “I cannot promise that this will end well and I am aware that the current quite is not going to be long-lived”. The decision to place girls in the area is the reason for the conflict he stated.
The mayor himself is a member of Israel’s chareidi community.
Ministry of Education officials report a total of 1,968,114 students in the public school system nationwide. This includes 144,101 new first graders, 108,097 high school seniors, 4,390 schools, 60,979 classrooms, and 133,494 teachers and assistants.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
I live here in ramat beit shemesh- the “Chariedi” sector causing this massive chilul hashem is roughly 30-50 people..the amount of people that came out to the rally in support of OROT was in the thousands…. the school is a religous school for girls until approx the age of bat mitzva… the girls come to school btznua and are nice good girls…
imagine in boro park people protested because they didnt want a FRUM RELIGOUS school opening on the block….its such stupidty……
The facts as described by the Mayor are patently false. The building was built for Orot Banot from the get-go, as evidenced by letters from the municipality and publicly posted contemporaneous messages that appeared on local Beit Shemesh e-mail lists – you can look it up yourself if you’d like. The Mayor also claimed that he received warnings from the police that the children would be in danger if they attended school in that building, so he could not allow the school to open; the police claim that they never said any such thing.
This is a local political power play, with the Mayor pandering to the most extreme Kano’im in Beit Shemesh, and Frum girls are being used as pawns. Great way to start Elul, isn’t it?
an Israeli Yid (and RBS resident)
YWN-ISRAEL has the responsibility to visit the area and SEE THE LOCATION of the school.
It is next door to 3 flourishing Torah Observant/Dati neighborhoods, walking distance girls from grades GAN to SIXTH grade. This building was built, money was raised and it was designed to be used by these children, boys are in another building nearby.
“The decision to place girls in the area is the reason for the conflict he stated” Absolute rubbish…real estate and buildings are a scarcity in every frum community, it is the wild west in grabbing, nabbing and rushing to declare OWNERSHIP..
Please refrain from calling savages that are willing to injure or murder Jews in order to profit financially as “members of the chareidi community.” They are no more chareidi than the insane heretics that march with the PLO or support Iran’s efforts to murder all the Jews in Israel. Furthermore, this type of AKZARIUS, cruelty, is not a trait of a Jew and as the Shulchan Orach rules, we must stay away from such people because their ancestry is in doubt. Do not be fooled by evil persons dressed in costumes.
Aryeh Zelasko
Beit Shemesh
I am a member of the Beit Shemesh chareidi community, and deeply pained by this story. The school is not in a chareidi area, but it abuts one. It is worse than the earlier poster’s comparison to Boro Park. Imagine a protest in Boro Park over a school opened OUTSIDE of Boro Park.
This is an embarrassment for me. An example of the most challenging facet of being chareidi in Israel — the notion that no one else counts for anything. I confidently have committed myself and the education of my children to the chareidi way of life, and distance myself from the dati leumi community because I believe its shortcomings are even more inconducive for my and my children’s spiritual development. But, I hang my head in shame from this hooliganism. I’m sorry that people with whom I identify are doing something so shameful towards our very own sisters.
I hope these young women and their parents don’t end up hating Torah and its teachers.
Radicalism is not logical and cannot be understood by us who do not have that mindset, regardless of how crazy, unJewish (I know its not a word,) and absurd their arguments are, they will still protest what they deem is right and haveing the religious Zeal behind them doesnt help matters but Really???
Are they really going to attack and inflict harm upon young kids just because their agenda has to move forward? that is a bit extreme even for them.
An IDT Grad