While Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was quick to announce that this year the city’s girls are in school, the reality paints a somewhat different picture. It appears that over 60 chareidi girls are without schools, and at present, they are sitting home hoping this year will not be a repeat of previous years. According to a Kikar Shabbat report, the reason is because a senior member of the city’s chareidi education department, the person responsible for assigning girls to schools was suspended from his position along with four others, apparently in connection to alleged false reports.
While school began a week ago the girls are at home, and no one is actively addressing their plight.
Deputy Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus, who holds the education portfolio, is quoted as expressing sorrow over the dismissal of the committee members, since as we see; it has a direct impact on addressing the needs of the girls.
City Hall officials are unwilling to address details of the dismissal of the employees since the investigation against them is ongoing. Officials add the mayor has personally instructed the relevant officials to address the problem immediately, and he remains committed to finding appropriate classrooms for all the city’s students.
Ministry of Education officials simply point a finger of blame at the city, unwilling to become more involved.
Yoav Lalum of the Noar K’halacha organization issued the following statement: “It is truly amazing to see just how low those responsible for the city’s chareidi education can sink – taking these girls as hostage, still without a school and using them towards returning to their positions.
“The city’s statement shows just how laughable their performance is regarding the need to assign girls to schools and regarding the Ministry of Education, its response is not at all surprising”.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
it is ossur to print anything in the name of the infamous rosho yoav lalum.
ywn – why don’t you have anyone in israel who knows the politics here to write for you???
The Chareidi schools should learn from Lakewood.
Given that we accept that parents within our community to have the children go to school with children who share the same minhagim or language (e.g. Yiddish speakers, same standards of kashrus, etc.), the issue is of a handful of student “falling through the cracks.” It isn’t really an issue of ethnic discrimination, though possibly an issue of linguistic or religious discrimination.
The solution would be for all the Hareidim to have a central commitee that woujld be responsible for making sure that all students are accomodated in schools of a suitable level of Yiddishkeit. At present each group in on its own, and the government is hardly in the position to take responsibility for how the Hareidim educate Hareidim children (given that the government wish to abolish Hareidi education, and views the existence of Hareidim as a national disaster, which it is from a zionist perspective).
We need a body of our own that “takes responsibility” on a community wide basis.
In Lakewood there is the Mashgiach. Is there no one in Yerushalayim in a position of authority who will stand up and say that no chareidi schools can open until all the girls are placed? That is what it took in Lakewood. Where are the Gedolim today? They can have arguments about whether Salmon have a particular type of worm or another type, but on an issue of this importance I hear nothing. Where is the Eida? Is there no leadership? Does anyone wonder why Moshiach is not here yet?
As I stated before do not give money to any school in Israel till they fix the problem. This is the only way they will fix it.
#5 — When was the last time you were asked for money on behalf of a Bais Yaakov girls’ school in Israel? These schools are funded primarily through the government and parent tuition, not by fundraising (as opposed to many boy’s yeshivos which take much less government money in exchange for more autonomy). That’s why the government is involved here — these school’s are mostly funded through the misrad hachinuch.