Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) reported on Tuesday morning that Herzliya City Hall is being accused of “economic discrimination against non-chareidim”, because it charges less for chareidim to swim on separate swimming days than it does for the general population on mixed swimming days.
Secular activists, including an attorney, has contacted City Hall demanding it charges the same for all swimmers all season.
According to the report, regular swimmers pay NIS 45 for adults and NIS 30 for children. On the three days during the season on which there is separate swimming, chareidi adults pay only NIS 15, a third of the regular adult rate.
City Hall is being threatened that if the fees are not amended so that everyone pays the same amount, the matter will be taken to the courts.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
From the sound of this, I really need more details to decide. Are the higher prices on weekends perhaps? Maybe the Chareidi swimming hours are ‘less desired’ hours for swimming, thus charging less? I know that the swimming facility near me has separate swimming at 10PM on weeknights, which isn’t exactly the best or easiest hours- so I can understand if 10PM on a Wednesday night is cheaper than a Noon on Sundays.
LOL accusing herzliyah of pro-chareidi discrimination is like accusing Arabs of pro-Jewish discrimination.
They solid just offer a low income discount across the board to whoever qualifies.
“it charges less for chareidim to swim on separate swimming days ”
Something wrong with the way this is worded. Are non-chareidim of appropriate gender allowed to swim on segregated (separate) days? Are they charged differently on those days than Chareidim? Are Chareidim allowed to swim on mixed days? Are they charged differently than non-Chareidim on those days?
Unless non-Chareidim (of appropriate gender) are forbidden from swimming on separate days, then the proper wording is that separate days are cheaper than mixed days. The question is why. And that question should be easy to answer in the same “spirit” as the quotation I started with. Start with the fact that Chareidim are limited to the separate days while non-Chareidim are *not* limited by either mixed or separate days. So the non-Chareidm are thus paying for the privilege of religious discrimination against the Chareidim.
A frivolous complaint. The pool is open to everyone on all days, and anyone is free to come and pay the fee being charged that day. Charedim are free to come on mixed swimming days; if they choose not to do so that’s their problem, not the city’s. The plaintiffs are equally free to come on the separate swimming days, and pay less; if they choose not to do so that’s their problem, not the city’s.
Would there be a possibility that it may be subsidised by a kind hearted individual?
Really?
They’re crying over 3 days?
Perhaps they’re having trouble getting people to come on separate swimming days, so they’re keeping the price lower? How many Chareidi people come there to swim anyway? Maybe this is one for the courts to decide.
The secularists are right. The only way around this would be if a private group rented the pool for those days, they can then charge whatever they like.
Charges should be the same.
Or perhaps amended for a discounted price for family swimming (4 or more members), or for a short span of time.
I imagine they need to charge less to attract chareidim, who otherwise must have other options for swimming, seeing as they only swim there 3 days a year. If there’s no special attraction/incentive, why would anyone bother going?
TGIShabbos – your conjecture makes a lot of sense. Probably the separate swiming hours are off-hours. Besides, as others rightly noted, anyone – whether religious or not – can choose to come during separate swimming hours and pay the lower rate.
I have to wonder if this accommodation is (also) for Arabs who want separate swimming as per their own culture (and the focus on Hareidi is both a smokescreen and simply hatred of Hareidi).