Ohr Yehuda Tries to Shut Down Nesivos Moshe School

MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, paid a visit on Friday to the Nesivos Moshe school in Ohr Yehuda to hear firsthand how municipal officials are trying to undermine the school. Following a long meeting with a group of parents and attended by Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin, director of Lev L’Achim, Rabbi Menachem Shapira, head of Degel HaTorah’s Municipal Department, and Rabbi Yitzchok Gottlieb, who serves as principal of the school and as Lev L’Achim coordinator in Ohr Yehuda, Rabbi Gafni announced that he would continue his efforts to back the school.

Recently, ranking city officials openly declared that they intended to pursue any and all means to shut down the school, saying it has been draining students from the city’s other schools.

The school was started by Lev L’Achim organizers for children from families in the process of becoming more observant, but which cannot yet send their children to Chinuch Atzmai schools designed for fully-observant families. The Mayor said the school’s success was drawing many students away from local government schools, resulting in the closure of several classes.

The municipality responded by declaring war on the school on all fronts, even sending a request to the Education Ministry to shut it down. To seed panic and uncertainty among the students’ parents, city officials also spread rumors that the Nesivos Moshe school was set to close.

The municipality’s attempts to sabotage the school failed. Enrollment for the 5770 school year is on the rise and many other parents are inquiring into the possibility of enrolling their children at the school. Unfortunately, due to a lack of space the school administration has had to turn away many parents rather than enabling them to educate their children in Torah and yiras Shomayim.

{Deiah veDibur/Matzav.com Newscenter}