The court issued a restraining order against the Haredi school in Beit Shemesh, and the students are forced to study on the street: The lower-grade students of the Haredi school from Mishkenot Daat in Beit Shemesh arrived today [Wednesday] at the closed school and were forced to study outside the building - in a tent erected for them on the street.
Shlomi, a resident of the neighborhood and the father of one of the girls, tells Haredim 10: "The injustice here screams to the heavens, this is a Haredi neighborhood, all the residents are Haredi, and the children from 'Languages and Cultures' arrive on buses from outside the neighborhood. It's simply ridiculous. It's a huge building, and it's mostly empty. They tried to talk to them for months and they wouldn't agree." Another parent, Meir, says cynically: "They're asking for segregation in the city. On the contrary, we'll eliminate the segregation and then the school, which is in the heart of a Haredi population, will belong entirely to the Haredim.".
Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Aboutbul spoke with Haredim 10 and said that the municipality asked the court for permission to hold classes in the building for the two days remaining until the court's ruling, but it flatly refused.
""I am sad and shocked that the court gave us a two-day suspension order unilaterally, without hearing our side. I am more shocked that we asked for permission from the Ministry of Education and were also told no, and this proves the central trend in the discussion.".
The municipality will be represented at the hearing to be held tomorrow by lawyer Uri Kedar, an expert in the field: "I hope that thanks to the prayers of the babies of Beit Raban at the hearing tomorrow, we will have divine help, and these girls will also have a place to study and a roof over their heads in the Israel of 2014," says Aboutbol.
The fighting classes
The religious storm in the city began after the municipality opened the school year by dividing the Languages and Cultures school into an ultra-Orthodox wing and a secular wing with a wall separating them. Parents of students from the Languages and Cultures school clashed with the police and even spray-painted graffiti on the stone fence.
The Beit Shemesh municipality stated that "about 144 students study at the 'Languages and Cultures' school, while about 900 students who are desperate for space are staying at the independent education school. Currently, the students study in neglected trailers, and it is the municipality's duty to provide them with a proper place. The principal of the 'Languages and Cultures' school was invited to work meetings for months, but she refused to show up, hence the decision to open the school in this format.".
Last night, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court issued an injunction prohibiting independent education from using "fighting classrooms" within the grounds of the secular Language and Cultures School.
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court Judge Gad Erenberg, who heard the case, accepted the urgent request submitted by the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office for interim relief ex parte, and issued a restraining order to the Independent Education Center Association from using any part of the Language and Cultures School building without receiving written approval from the Ministry of Education, until a decision on the matter is made in court. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 10:00 AM.
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