With the assistance of chareidi Jerusalem Councilmen Yossi Deutsch and Yisrael Kellerman, a deal was closed last week to allocate a location for a new shul for mispallalim of the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of N’vei Yaakov. Mayor Nir Barkat has instructed the relevant persons to expedite the final paperwork in the matter.

The permits refer to a shul for chareidi mispallalim after months of intensive efforts and negotiations. Also involved were Councilman Shlomo Rosenstein and attorney Elkana Holtzer.

Over recent years more chareidim have moved into the N’vei Yaakov ‘merkaz’ neighborhood and tefilos have been held in makeshift locations and at times difficult conditions. Months ago, realizing they have no place to daven, they set a caravan into place on an empty lot, doing so without authorization. It did not take long for the order to come from City Hall to remove the illegal structure. Attorney Holtzer worked tirelessly and without compensation to save the caravan from destruction.

Through his efforts a deal with made with the director-general of the city, attorney Amnon Merchav, by which the caravan was not destroyed but moved from the location.

The legal experts continued working as a result of Holtzer’s efforts, and a solution was found to legally permit the placement of the caravan amid a guarantee the people involved would make the required arrangements. In a meeting about two months ago attended by some of the persons mentioned above, it was decided to allocate land to the Yachad B’Torah NGO, the organization founded to operate the shul. B’chasdei Hashem after a period of hardship the mispallalim are now anxiously awaiting a shul.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)