It appears many, if not most Har Nof residents are less than pleased with the decision by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon to change the name of the neighborhood to Neot Yosef, in memory of Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L and Maran HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv ZT”L, as reported by YWN-Israel. Residents insist they were not consulted, and the mayor acted on his own. Many are displeased with his decision.
“There was no discussion with the residents about the name of Har Nof. We were not notified directly – we first read about it in the general media yesterday,” said Har Nof resident Michal Steinberger. “It is unacceptable for anyone to change the name of our neighborhood without consulting with us. We can offer [names] and permit residents to vote on it, all the residents, and what is decided by residents will determine the outcome. There is no committee, mayor or residents’ representative since there are no such entities in Har Nof.”
Residents are calling on Mayor Leon to reverse the decision, MyNet reports, as many residents are pleased with the current name, asking why not Neot Yisrael after the Chafetz Chaim, or one of many other prominent important rabbonim they question.
The announced planned name change only adds to the anger and exacerbation of residents, as they claim they are currently living under siege due to simultaneous construction on Kanfei Nesharim Street for the Jerusalem light rail and construction on Route 16 by the Jerusalem Forest side of the neighborhood. This has effectively shut down primary entrances and exits to and from the community, leaving an untenable traffic situation.
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City Hall explains, “The decision was made after lengthy discussions and with public representatives from the neighborhood. Even after the mayor’s intention to change the name of the neighborhood was published, many positive reactions were received from neighborhood residents who view it a great privilege in changing the name of the community after two prominent spiritual giants, who worked in Jerusalem and contributed greatly to it. In any case, after a discussion of the Names Committee, residents will be given a period of time to express their views and this will be taken into consideration.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
As a Har Nof resident myself, I agree that this (non) process and decision was a bit extreme.
Certainly, it can be regarded as a kavodik thing to name a neighborhood after a gadol, but that would typically happen to a new neighborhood which is starting!! To just change the name of an established, 35 year old neighborhood is unheard of!! And to do so without any input from residents who this change actually affects is simply disrespectful.
On a side note, about the traffic woes–residents are not “claiming” there’s an issue as if it’s some unproven allegation. It is the facts on the ground–quite literally, in this case.
agree
BH things have gotten so good in Eretz Yisrael that it is nonsense like this that bothers people.
There has been no legal decision taken to change the name of Har Nof. Leon has embarked on a fools ego trip which will not come to fruition. If he does not voluntarily back down the High Court will force him to do so. Residents of Har Nof have already spoken to lawyers. Israel is not a third world country where one person can simply decide to change the name of a neighborhood because his political masters want him to. Nice that there are pictures of lots of Rabbonim but none of them are from Har Nof. Back off your fools escapade, Leon. If there are any public representatives from the neighborhood of Har Nof, they are the members of the Minhelet. Th Minhelet was not consulted about this fools enterprise and first heard about it from the City Hall press release. By all means call a neighborhood after either or both of Rav Eliashiv or Rav Yosef, but choose a new neighborhood. Who is going to pay the vast costs associated with changing the name? Anyway the neighborhood will continue to be known as Har Nof. Long after Leon is a forgotten nobody, Har Nof will still be there.
Leon’s response that they “consulted” with a few local political leaders as distinct from holding a public hearig on the name change or publishing a proposal and soliticitng written comments, is a bit disingenuous. Very few municipalities have formal legal procedures for changing the name of a neighborhood and here in the U.S., the Post Office often makes such name changes arbitrarily. Whatever the rules in EY, common sense dictates to consult the locals BEFORE the fact rather than after it to be a fait acompli’.
I live in Har Nof, and if anyone had asked me to, I would have voted for the name change. I would love for my neighborhood to be named after two such eminent gedolim… even if the decision to make the change might have been motivated by political considerations!
But no one asked me, nor seemingly anyone else in the neighborhood and that’s what’s wrong with the process.
Perhaps, just avoid the controversy triggered by the linkage with a Sephardeshe gadol and instead select a more politically neutral name such as Ganzville or Ba’er Bibi.
#whocares???? My gosh. Who in the world cares? If boro park was changed to forest hill would anyone care? What does it affect??