Prominent rabbonim of the chareidi tzibur in the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood of Jerusalem released a letter warning against the planned establishment of a Kiryat Chinuch (Educational complex) in the community in line with the Jerusalem Municipality’s ‘neighborhood agreement’ plan, which was signed by the previous mayor of the city, Nir Barkat with Degel Hatorah. Degel agreed to the plan, feeling it would assist the chareidi tzibur living in mixed neighborhoods in the city, like Ramot for an example.

According to the plan, the education complex will be built on 60,000 square meters, including hundreds of classrooms to assist in alleviating the severe classroom shortage in the city.

In addition to the spiritual fears, which have the rabbonim concerned, the rabbonim are warning of the other concerns as well, including unprecedented traffic issues on the main roads leading to the new complex once it is operational. The rabbonim point out that there is already a shortage of parking and by adding the complex, amid the realization the main road is relatively narrow, the new reality will be disastrous. The rabbonim add the educational complex will threaten Ramat Eshkol and Givat HaMivtar, as many of the different schools will not be appropriate for the community, which is primarily bnei torah, “and this will seriously harm the character of the neighborhoods, and endanger the education of our descendants”.

The rabbonim add that “The thousands of students and hundreds of vehicles” that will be arriving daily will seriously harm the quality of life in the area. They conclude by stating “daas torah calls for opposing the plan and to act to have the evil decree annulled”.

Signing the letter were Rabbi Tzvi Sharlin, Rabbi Aharon David Potash, Rabbi Nissan Shlomo HaCohen Kaplan, Rabbi Shalom Twill, and Rabbi Yehuda Baum.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)