A new war in Beitar Elite: The 'Cafetz Chaim' network against the mayor

August 28, 2014   

Parents of students from the 'Cafetz Chaim' school and kindergarten network are demanding that Mayor Meir Rubinstein sign an agreement to transfer the network to the HaMach network, the state-Haredi network established by Education Minister Rabbi Dr. Shai Piron, so far without much success.

Rubinstein refuses the request.  

Due to the sensitivity of the matter, those close to the mayor are refusing to comment on the matter. The school principal, Israel Pechter, also prefers to remain silent.

The parents of the students sent a letter to the mayor, which stated: "We, the parents of the students of the Hafetz Haim school and kindergartens, have come here with one simple request. The authority's signature on the transfer of the students of the school and kindergartens to the MAMAH network.".

And in this letter we will try to explain to you why and how important this signature is to us.

Let's start by saying that before the Hafetz Chaim school opened, there was no educational arrangement for our girls, with all kinds of admissions committees and selections at the Betar.,

Rabbi Becker arrived together with Rabbi Pechter and took up the gauntlet, worked and toiled and succeeded in building the school and kindergartens with the help of the previous mayor, Rabbi Pindarus, who was willing to provide a stone building, and even took care of financing the kindergartens for two years. Overall, this solved for us – the parents, and you as the head of the city, a problem of school places for a large and legitimate group of residents in Betar, which remained unanswered.

Thank God, over the 8 years the school and kindergartens have developed, and today the students need a normal structure, like most schools in the city.

When you were elected mayor, you brought us dilapidated trailers on Divrei Chaim Street for use as kindergartens and schools. The trailers leaked water in the winter and were scorched by the heat in the summer. We reached a point where the ceilings collapsed in the middle of the school year. They moved us to Igarot Moshe Street for another collection of trailers, the last thing they deserve is to be used as a school and kindergarten.

They are very old, small and crowded. They are located above a sewage treatment plant, where the toxic gases that rise from there and the terrible smell cause respiratory illnesses and a lack of concentration for the girls and staff. Mice run everywhere. The plumbing in the place is poor. Maintenance is very expensive! In the winter, the cold that enters the classrooms and the rain that leaks make the situation unbearable!

To wash their hands, the girls have to put on a coat and take an umbrella... This is not normal in 2014. The trailers in this complex are the oldest in the city left for use by schools and kindergartens!

We wanted to transfer the kindergartens and school to the MAM, like Chabad in the city of Beitar. We came to the Ministry of Education to be accepted, but they referred us to the Haredi state network. After the parents worked hard with the Ministry of Education, we signed the contract with the new network, but the authority's signature was also required, like with the MAM, and to our great surprise, we heard that you refused to sign!

Good heavens! Why are we, who are parents who work for our living and are among the small group that pay you full property taxes, not entitled to our share as is customary, and especially since some of the parents are army veterans of the Haredi stream, Shahar and graduates of holy yeshivahs of all classes and denominations, etc., who contributed their share to the state, not entitled to what other schools, which were established years after us and withdrew from the general public and built ghettos for themselves, received?

Are we second class?

You promised us a mandir in B on the eve of the elections, but after inspecting the place, we realized that the place and the old mandirs were not suitable for us, and we have no interest in exchanging a cow for a donkey.

We are a large group of ultra-Orthodox families, living according to Halacha, living in Betar Illit and demanding what we deserve. Our right to live in the city by right, not by favor! We also deserve a good education for our daughters in a worthy and respectful place,

We demand that you sign the transfer for us. We also deserve the best for our daughters. In the hope of understanding and solving the problem in an easy and simple way, so that we are not forced to go to places that will be unpleasant for you and us. We ask and demand to receive the required signature from the municipality within 48 hours. It is important for us to note that at this stage a copy of the letter has not been sent to any party other than Mayor Eliek.".

To no one, except the media, of course.

Behind the scenes, a senior official involved in the affair says that the municipality approved a detailed zoning plan for the building for the chain at a council meeting several months ago, but in practice, the implementation of the plan is falling through the cracks.

""If you are not willing to sign, due to rabbinic orders, a move to the MMACH network, at least take care of the structure for the network," I told a senior official in Rubinstein's circle, and asked to know when the first brick would be laid for the approved structure.

I have not received an answer or a date until now.