Chareidi Jerusalem councilmen met with Mayor Nir Barkat to discuss the mayor’s plans in a number of mixed neighborhoods. One area of concern is Ramat A, where the mayor plans a swimming pool and sports fields in the complex known as the Country. The councilmen called on the mayor to cancel the plan and to cease his involvement in projects in Ramot, which has a chareidi majority today.
The meeting took place on Monday, 19 Iyar, attended by Yahadut Hatorah Councilmen R’ Eliezer Ruchberger R’ Yosef Halprin and R’ Yosef Deutsch.
The councilmen cited a list of issues, reminding the mayor that his involvement in the mixed areas is a violation of the coalition agreements they signed, and this pertains especially to Ramot.
The councilmen told the mayor that from their perspective, Ramot is a chareidi neighborhood since 80% of its residents are chareidi. They told the mayor they will not tolerate his interference and his efforts to compromise the chareidi character of the community by pushing a secular agenda. They added City Hall’s planned construction of a community center in the heart of a chareidi area an assault against the rights of the chareidi majority. The councilmen made it clear, that they are not about to sit back and take what comes their way, stating they will not permit the city to trample on the rights of the chareidi residents.
They went on to address the shortage of classrooms in the chareidi sector in Ramot for schools, kindergartens, and daycare alike, reminding the mayor that too many chareidi children are compelled to attend school in substandard conditions. They spoke of the need to allocate land to construct shuls in the community as well. They added in Kiryat Yovel there are no regulation kindergartens or daycare centers and the situation must be addressed. “Where is the equality” they questioned.
The meeting then turned to Gilo, with the councilmen pointing out there are hundreds of chareidi families in the southern neighborhood but no serves for them. They stated at present there are 300 avreichim in Gilo and that number is growing.
As a result of the meeting, the scheduled Jerusalem Finance Committee meeting that was to have taken place on Monday afternoon to approve the Country project, was pushed off to next week. The mayor also called a meeting for Thursday, 22 Iyar, to be attended by senior city officials to address the issues raised by chareidi councilmen.
Shas officials also told the mayor they are adamantly opposed to the Country project in Ramot along with Yahadut Hatorah.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
If you follow the hiloni media, it is clear that they consider the leading problem confronting Yerusalayim to be the excessive and growing number of hareidim – and a population serving the hiloni constituents will do all in his power to solve the problem. The hard truth is that to the ruling class in Eretz Yisrael, the continued existence of the Torah community is a threat and a problem. From their perspective, we are their misfortune.
The gemara in Kiddushin teaches that some say every father has an absolute obligation to teach his son to swim so why are the haredim against a swimming pool?
Akupurma “the Torah community is a threat and a problem. From their perspective, we are their misfortune.”
Bravo for your enlightenment, you have just landed on the pillar of Satmar ravs shita
#2- Because at a municipal swimming pool, that reflects the community that elected the mayor, there will be secular women wearing what they consider to be proper and even modest bathing costumes and that we would consider to be very skimpy underwear.
#3- If you follow the hiloni (not the Dati Leumi) media, you will realize that they see us as the mortal enemy.