The battle for the religious children of Maale Adumim against Mayor Benny Kashriel continues. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri on Monday evening tweeted that his party has left the city’s coalition government, explaining “the children of Maale Adumim do not have to schlepp to Yerushalayim, and therefore, I instructed the members of Shas on the city council to resign.

There are currently over 100 families in the city seeking a chareidi education but there is none available as the mayor remains firmly opposed to permitting and chareidi or chardal school or talmid torah operate in the city, fearing more chareidim will move in.

During the weeks of bein hazmanim there have been protests outside Maale Adumim City Hall and opposition to Kashriel is mounting, but the politically connected mayor remains vehemently opposed to frum educational institutions.

One talmid torah operating in the past years is constantly being targeted by the mayor despite catering to the chardal (chareidi dati leumi) population. While the Education Ministry has inspected the talmid torah numerous times, always approving the curriculum and expressing a willingness to approve it retroactively, the mayor is doing everything possible to shut it down.

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After outgrowing the women’s section of a shul, its first home, it rented a storefront and has now been served with eviction papers from City Hall due to zoning violations, as the store is not zoned for a school. Dozens of parents registered their children for the chardal talmid torah, but they were subsequently threatened by City Hall with various sanctions and backed down, leaving the talmid torah with only a few students. The parents continue fighting the mayor to continue providing the children with a torani education, unwilling to send their boys to religious public schools.

Kashriel, a Likud-affiliated mayor, runs a successful city, one that boasts clean streets, malls, medical services, and a great deal more, but the mayor remains a harsh opponent to chardal and chareidi institutions of any type.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)