The machlokes surrounding the separate beach in Ashdod involving Mayor Yechiel Lasri continues. Ashdod Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sheinin is standing firmly in support of Deputy Mayor Avi Amsellem and clarifies the separate beach is permissible.
During a graduation for a local vocational school in the city, Rav Sheinman spoke, choosing to show praise and express his firm support for the steps taken by the senior Sephardi representative who took part in the event. Rabbi Sheinin addressed the Acting Mayor of Ashdod, Avi Amsalem, and said: “Congratulations to you Rabbi Avraham, for preparing the beach for the chareidi community in the city.
“We recall that recently there is a never-ending saga around the segregated beach in Ashdod, when the badatz rabbonim of Agudas Yisrael published a ban on swimming at this stage due to various deficiencies, that they claim have not yet been rectified.
“That said, from the opposing side, senior city officials explain that this is mainly the whim of askanim who try to control every move in the city through the rabbonim of the Krayot, and they are certainly uninterested in what is good for the tzibur”.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
Why not tell us who are the Rabbonim on the other side of this dispute and what their reasons are for not allowing their followers to use the beach? Also, how much money and effort would be involved in upgrading the beach to their satisfaction so all the frum people in the city could use it? The Rabbonim of the Kiriyot include Ger, Belz and Vizhnitz, not to mention smaller but respected groups like Pittsburg and Melitz, which together make up a very large chunk of the city’s frum population – their views should at least be heard and taken into consideration.