Jerusalem City Hall officials informed the Sanhedria Talmid Torah it will have to vacate its building to accommodate the Beis Yaakov HaYoshon, with the latter suffering from dangerously extreme overcrowding. The process was to have taken place by now, but the Interior Ministry, controlled by Shas, has put the brakes on the deal

On Wednesday morning 24 Menachem Av, Rabbi Yisrael Levin, principal of the girl’s high school (Beis Yaakov HaYoshon), sent a letter to Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen (Shas), a harshly-worded letter in which he explains that since the Interior Ministry has back-tracked on permits it issued vis-à-vis moving into the talmid torah building, he will be unable to open a ninth grade this coming year. The letter is understood to be Rabbi Levin’s way of informing Interior Minister Aryeh Deri that the school will not be accepting Sephardi girls since there will be no ninth grade. Ditto for Ashkenazi girls.

If this truly is the case, many additional girls in the city will be left without a school come the start of the 5778 school year.

Rav Levin explains that without adequate space, the school cannot accept girls assigned to the school for ninth grade. He praises efforts by City Hall to assist in finding a solution, but points out the school year begins in two weeks. Levin warns due to unacceptable conditions, the school may not open, but hints that he hopes that they will be permitted to open with “minimal educational conditions” for the benefit of the girls.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)