The “Mesorah” Talmud torah in the Mekor Baruch neighborhood of Jerusalem was demolished on Tuesday after it had been slated for demolition for numerous years. The school building had served as a Talmud Torah for decades prior and has been demolished together with other nearby structures in order to make way for four high-rise apartment buildings.

The talmud Torah, which is located on Tachkemoni Street in Jerusalem, had served as a dayschool for children for more than fifty years. Some 25 years ago, the space was deemed too small to accommodate the number of students and the growing population in the area.

Next to the Talmud Torah, an old shul, Ohel Mordechai, whose use has dwindled over time was also demolished. The shul served mainly a nostalgic purpose now, being one of the places where Chazzan Yosele Rosenblatt used to Daven. The shul was only in use on Shabbos in the past few years and only by a very small group of community members who tried to bring Chazzanim to the shul to celebrate the memory of Rosenblatt.

Numerous real estate moguls had been eyeing the location, as it is centrally located close to the neighborhoods of Geulah, the center of town and the Machane Yehuda market.

There were numerous voices who opposed the demolition, in spite of the location’s lack of use due to nostalgic reasons, but these voices were overruled by city developers.

The current plan is to provide a much-needed outlet for the housing crisis in Jerusalem and create more apartments in the center of the city. Residents of the neighborhood fear that the already crowded area will now be inundated with another 173 families who will live in the new apartment buildings and bring more congestion to the area.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)