200 girls who attend the Shas-affiliated Emunat Tzion School have been at home since last Wednesday, 1 Cheshvan 5773 due to serious problems with the school building. The school’s principal blames City Hall and its agencies of foot dragging at the expense of the students.

The story began at the end of the last school year, 5772, when the school received a letter from the Ministry of Health citing serious violations and the need to shut the Ezra Street facility down until corrective measures are taken. The school’s directors turned to Jerusalem City Hall, quoting city officials as promising the matter would be taken care of “within two months”.

As the 5773 year opened, it was clear City Hall failed to make good on its promise. This compelled the closure of the school last week.

Principal Rabbi Mordechai Stern reports the current situation is “impossible and intolerable”.

“We cannot pull out a solution from our sleeves. On the other hand, we cannot rent another facility which will cost about 1 million NIS annually”. Stern adds that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited the building last year after they received the letter from the ministry, and the mayor promised to address the issues, adding “nothing has been done to date”.

City Hall sees things a bit differently, stating the school is not formally recognized and therefore, the school and not the city is responsible to take corrective action. Nevertheless, the city is in contact with the school’s directors and is willing to assist, but the responsibility falls on the non-profit running the school and not City Hall as stated.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)