"The secular residents feel that they are a target": a new struggle over the character of a neighborhood in Jerusalem - voila! news

On video: "The secular residents feel like they are a target": a new fight over the character of a neighborhood in Jerusalem (courtesy of the people in the photos)

The fight for the Jerusalem status quo is renewed, and this time - the court will be required to rule on the opening of an ultra-Orthodox school in the Kiryat Hiyoval neighborhood in Jerusalem.

In the heart of the neighborhood, the "Lady Davis" vocational school of the Amal network has been operating for many years, and hundreds of at-risk students study there, along with many of the neighborhood's students.

About five months ago, the municipality decided to transfer half of it to a building on the other side of the city as part of a "procedure to upgrade the conditions for the students", and the winds in the city began to stir.

Rumors of a deal being formed with the ultra-Orthodox faction in the municipality began to spread from word of mouth and many residents began to suspect that it was an attempt to bring in the ultra-Orthodox elementary school "Beit Yaacov" - a move that could completely change the neighborhood's position.

Last Thursday, the Jerusalem Municipality completed the move, when it announced that the entire school framework would move to the other side of the city and its place would be taken, as predicted, by an ultra-orthodox institution.

The decision outrages the secular-liberal residents of the neighborhood who claim: "Breaking the status quo in Kiryat Yuval endangers not only the color of the neighborhood, but the entire city - which will become less Zionist, and more poor."

Demonstration in front of the "Lady Davis" school (photo: official website, "Save Jerusalem" faction)

Even inside the municipality, the winds are turbulent: the deputy mayor, Yossi Havilio, who leads the secular line in the local government, protested the decision: "The decision of the Jerusalem municipality to move the 'Lady Davis' school from its place in favor of opening a 'Beit Ya'akov' school in Kiryat Hiyoval is not only Unfortunate, but a death blow to the school and a fatal blow to Kiryat Yuval as a pluralistic and open neighborhood."

"There is no upgrade here, but a serious injury," added Habilio and promised that he would work to reverse the decision.

"Of course I will vote against this move, it is an unfortunate step that I will continue to fight against in every way I can. This is an institution that over the years has saved thousands of boys and girls who were in danger of dropping out of the education system, and to transfer its structure to the 'Beit Ya'akov' network is a resounding slap in the face to the non-Orthodox public in Jerusalem".

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"An unfortunate step that I will continue to struggle with."

Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Yossi Havilio (photo: official website, "Saving Jerusalem" faction)

The chairman of the "Lady Davis" parents' council, David Ohion, expressed firm opposition to the move: "We will fight for the school - and we will win.

We have no intention of bowing our heads and agreeing to cynical political deals being made on the backs of our children and at the expense of the residents of the neighborhood and the region."

The representative of the Yuval community director, Sami Alkalai, added that "'Lady Davis' is an institution that over the years has saved thousands of boys and girls who were in danger of dropping out from the education system, and instead of protecting him - harming him and the entire neighborhood.

We have no choice but to resort to legal proceedings, after the law and rulings have been blatantly trampled here, and for political purposes only, by a mayor who needs the ultra-Orthodox vote to be re-elected."

Another focus of struggle.

The pool at Har Huma (photo: official website, Nir Levy)

One of the residents of the neighborhood, Yuval Avraham, said that the other secular residents "feel that they have a target on their backs."

According to him, "Our educational and cultural institutions are under attack. It is forbidden to add sin to crime, and to close a professional school that serves the population that has lived in the neighborhood since its inception - for a school that does not teach the core, and is intended for the population that does not live here. This is an injury to the state public, and an act that feels that it was intended To push the Zionists out of Kiryat Yuval and Jerusalem. I want to thank Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio who supports us and accompanies us in the fight for the neighborhood's status."

In the meantime, a number of significant petitions that will affect the character of the city in the coming years are being heard by the District Court in Jerusalem.

The most prominent among them is the question of whether to open the public pool in Har Huma on Saturdays, when last Tuesday the decisive discussion on the issue took place and the verdict will be sent to the parties in the coming days.

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