After a long struggle including petitions to the judicial system and threats to break from the Jerusalem Municipality coalition, a new chareidi talmid torah in the Katamon neighborhood of the city will be funded by City Hall. The new talmid torah building will serve Sephardi boys and girls.

The story began a year ago in the Jerusalem District Court when the court ordered the closure of Talmid Torah Yiras Hashem in Katamon in response to a request from City Hall. That talmid torah was operated by Chinuch Atzmai.

The students, numbering 40 boys and 200 girls continued in the building until the end of the last school year as per the court order. A protest was planned at City Hall as parents and the mayor were locked as to what will be done to provide a new home for the children’s school. The principal is Rebitzen Elisheva Be’eri, a daughter-in-law of HaGaon HaRav Bentzion Mutzafi Shlita. It is reported that Rebitzen Be’eri had nothing to do with the inappropriate handling of the school that led to the closure order.

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen, who is in charge of the city’s chareidi education portfolio decide to get involved towards finding the school a new home. After negotiations with Mayor Nir Barkat and relevant committees, agreement was reached with the city that a new building that will be constructed within a year. However talks collapsed when Chinuch Atzmai decided to appear the closure order in court. The mayor’s people warned doing so would ties their hands and leave the school stranded. Ultimately the court rejected the Chinuch Atzmai petition.

After threatening to break from the coalition, final agreement was reached between Deputy Mayor Cohen and Mayor Barkat on Wednesday, 27 Menachem Av. The agreement with the mayor and Jerusalem Director-General Amnon Merchav the students will be housed in a different building for the 5776 school year and the rent will be paid by the city until such time the new building is constructed in the Makor Chaim neighborhood of the city, also funded by the city in the amount of NIS 8.9 million.

Deputy Mayor Cohen thanked and praised the mayor and his staff.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)