The Safot Vetarbuyot elementary school in Beit Shemesh was closed today after violence erupted due to opposition of parents who are against the city’s decision to segregate chareidi and secular students.
Residents fought with guards and workers who are constructing the school building.
City Councilman Eli Cohen called the proposed wing “the beginning of the end” of the Zionism in Bet Shemesh, according to Haaretz.
The Education Ministry has sided with opponents too, having already threatened to pull the city’s education budget if the plan is put into place, but municipal leaders have not been swayed, saying the plan is merely to ensure that children from “all sectors” will have a “proper place to study.”
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
Which side is protesting? It certainly seems like “busha l’tziyonut”. The secularism of the “Zionist” left has blown back into their face. I think the Haredim displayed their ahavas-Yisrael very admirably in the last conflict. Maybe they deserve some respect and not just reluctant tolerance. Rav Wasserman zzwqlv warned of this development 80 years ago. Chicken’s come home to roost (roast?).
if you refuse a future with good hope, you might get listed as antagonistic to the spread of good values.
Thanks for all the information. Now we really know what’s going on.
‘the beginning of the end of the Zionism ‘
Whatever that is supposed to mean
The education minister decided to allow empty classes in the school to be used for segregated classes for religious girls. Unfortunately, he also decided to build a large fence outside the school to separate the religious girls from the secular children. The secular parents are disturbed at the use of a state school for religious students, especially the building of the very large fence. (I’ve seen pictures of it. Yes, it’s large.)
If they had just proposed to use some classrooms, even with a separate entrance, it might not have caused much comment, but the building of the fence is a very loud statement of, “We don’t want your children contaminating ours.” Whether it was meant as an insult or not, that is how people are perceiving it. The graffiti refer to segregation and the end of the idea of one people united in the State.
If the classrooms had been assigned without the fence, probably very few people would have protested. The fence is just an open declaration that can only cause enmity. Why do we always shoot ourselves in the foot?
Oh, and the “violence” consisted of yelling, pushing and shoving. (One person needed minor on-site first-aid.) Guess nowadays the word is necessary to get people to click on the article.
‘ the violence consisted of yelling, pushing and shoving’
When did it become mutar to yell at, push, or shove a fellow Jew?
Its clear from the pple protesting and the office for quality of govt. that young religious girls are not entitled to the same basic rights of education as other Israeli citizens. perhaps the quality of govt. would actually be better if that office would disappear.