Are apartments being built in the city of Emmanuel for Ashkenazim only?
In advertisements distributed in Haredi centers, on bulletin boards, and in the Haredi written press, the Haredi Mountains company offers housing in the New Emmanuel, under the title "This time I'm inside.".
The ads, of course, detail the advantages of the new project: proximity to Jerusalem and Bnei Brak (only 35 minutes from Bnei Brak and an hour from Jerusalem), an extremely cheap price (starting at 580,000), and most importantly - because of the 'Ansh' community.
However, a closer look at the ad reveals the feeling that this community may be formed from a very specific stream within Haredi society.
The top part of the ad shows two bearded Haredim, conversing with each other, well, in Yiddish.
""Dad, listen to me, I'm just coming back from a tour of the new Emmanuel," says the son. "I can't believe it, only 35 minutes from Bnei Brak!""
""Get out of my way," the father replies, speaking in Yiddish. "You hardly ever come to visit anyway... but tell me, are there enough gardens for the children?""
In an appeal to the ultra-Orthodox, 10 consumers complained that the ad appeared to be aimed at residents of a particular community, in addition to the implicit assumption that an area inhabited by Yiddish-speaking ultra-Orthodox is 'more valuable'.
The PR office of the Golden Mountains company, which markets the apartments, strongly rejects the allegations and claims that the marketing is intended for all sectors and ethnicities.
""The Golden Mountains Company markets apartments in Emanuel to all Haredi communities without any discrimination," the company said in its response. "The current campaign began with comic cartoons depicting a conversation inside a typical Haredi home. The most recent ads depicted a conversation inside a Yiddish-speaking Hasidic home. There are ads depicting other situations from different communities.
""There is no connection between the choice of a Yiddish cartoon and the type of population we are marketing to. This is one ad out of a whole.".
The Emanuel Affair
This is not the first time that the name of the city of Emanuel has been linked to discrimination. In the past, serious allegations of discrimination have been made in the city's educational institutions - allegations that led to what was called the "Emanuel Affair.".
In a petition filed against the 'Beit Yaakov' school for girls in the city, by the 'Noar Kahalacha' association and attorney Yoav Lalom, it was alleged that more than once, members of the Ashkenazi community in Emanuel made improper, primarily political, use, and exploited their control over the school's resources, in order to wage battles in the 'Sephardi' community on the backs of the little girls who study at the school.
The ad published by Beted Ne'eman and family
The main argument revolved around the school's position, which raised allegations regarding the alleged failure of girls of Mizrahi origin to comply with the school's regulations, which was completely unfounded, according to the petition.
The court ordered the school administration to accept the girls and the parents to send their children to school.
Their request was not granted - they were taken to prison. A huge demonstration against the Supreme Court was held in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, claiming that the court should not interfere with the unique educational methods of the Haredi sector.
The video of the 'Amunah' company'
An advertisement for the construction company "Bamunah," a company that builds for the national-religious public, caused a stir about two months ago, when the video showed a family of Ashkenazi, national-religious appearance, blessing the Hanukkah candles and singing "Maoz Tzur," when suddenly two young men burst into the apartment speaking with a heavy Mizrahi accent, one of them wearing Moroccan clothing, and the other nicknamed "Abergil.".
The two enter to ask for sugar, when one of them says to his friend: "Look, have a barbecue inside the house," and the other replies: "What kind of barbecue is Yagnov, it's a conch shell.".
Later in the commercial, the two 'Mizrahi' ask to do a "flip", offer "we'll bring wings, we'll bring hot dogs", roast marshmallows on the candles and say "this is dietetic", while emphasizing a Mizrahi accent.
At this point, the narrator enters the picture with the residential project, asking: "Do you also want a house of your own? With your beloved neighbors? The knitters have a new house," and the slide directs the public to the project "Kermei Gat Community - the national religious complex in Kermei Gat," with the telephone number for public inquiries.
The harsh allegations surrounding the video's 'racism' reached the Attorney General's desk, accompanied by a letter from the Deputy Attorney General, Attorney Erez Kaminitz.
In his letter, Kaminitz wrote: "Recently, a promotional video was published in the media by a developer who won a tender to build housing units in the Carmi Gat complex. On the surface, the video raises concerns about prohibited discrimination when marketing the apartments in the complex.".
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