Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yitzchak Pindrus at a city council meeting on Wednesday night 18 Elul discussed the machlokes that continues between the frum and secular residents of the city’s Kiryat Yovel neighborhood. He explained to his colleagues that he is personally willing to sit down at a negotiating table in the hope of working out the problems but he will not agree to a situation in which the chareidi residents of the city do not receive the services they are entitled to. He stressed the latter is not a precondition to negotiations to end the machlokes in Kiryat Yovel, and that one does not try to prevent chareidim from moving to a specific area by denying services that every citizen is entitled to, and this is the situation in Kiryat Yovel today. “The concept of closing a theater in the hope of chasing one out of the capital is not acceptable. The concept of depriving a child of a school or kindergarten is equally unacceptable” he added. This Pindrus lamented is the operational methodology of the Kiryat Yovel ‘minhelet’ neighborhood council, which feels by depriving a certain group of services the members of that group will leave the area, which is the council’s goal. “Such behavior only benefits us political and does not deliver you the desired results” he added. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Residents of the controversial Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of the capital have announced they are opening a private school for the coming school year as they are tired of their children having to travel to a different neighborhood to attend a chareidi school. The problem stems from the reality that over the past decade, the community is becoming increasingly chareidi and the veteran secular residents are fighting to prevent the continuing trend. Jerusalem Councilman (Shas) Tzvika Cohen explained to Kol Chai Radio on Sunday morning 3 Menachem Av “one must understand. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was backed and elected with certain understandings, one being a commitment not to open a chareidi school in Kiryat Yovel”. Cohen explains for as long as a chareidi mayor was not elected, the chareidi tzibur must understand certain realities exist and this is included in that group. Cohen holds the city’s chareidi education portfolio. At present, the climate in the community among the significant chareidi tzibur is that the school is going to be opened “at all costs” and they are willing to go to war over the matter – simply fed up with having to bus their children. Cohen explains that while he personally backs the initiative, the fact remains that as a councilman, there is little he can do for as long as Barkat remains opposed to a chareidi school in Kiryat Yovel and he does not believe chareidi pressure is going to change this any time soon. Cohen added that work is taking place at this time to open another school in Bayit Vegan which is close to Kiryat Yovel and it will be a proper school with regulation classrooms. Cohen explains the building is intended to serve first to fourth graders from Kiryat Yovel as well as relieving the overcrowding in the current school in Bayit Vegan. Cohen remains confident the new Bayit Vegan venue will be ready in time for the opening of the school year. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Yeshiva Chachmei Lev is located in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of Yerushalayim, a school that is perhaps representative of the new trend, offering those who do not wish to remain in beis medrash all day an alternative. In this high school the talmidim maintain their chareidi identity but they will graduate will a full bagrut matriculation exam. Some will enter the IDF as well. Channel 2 correspondent Dana Weiss gives us an inside look at the yeshiva and the rabbonim who boldly stand behind the school amid the awareness there is a large number of youths who wish to remain chareidim without being compelled to sit and learn all day to the exclusion of all secular subjects. The school currently numbers 60 talmidim and it is an uphill battle for the chareidim of Kiryat Yovel do not want them as is the case in other frum neighborhoods. Neighbors fear that the presence of the school will attract others but as Rabbi Betzalel Cohen explains, the needs for such schools exists and it is time to come to terms with this. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

The fight to stop city-sponsored airing of movies in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of Jerusalem continues. Chareidi councilmen were led to believe the movies shown in the Kiryat Yovel community council on Friday nights for non-religious residents would stop, and they did for a period of time. It has now been learned the community council has decided to renew the program. The vote passed because City Hall representatives and Mayor Barkat abstained. Mr. Yechiel Levy, who heads the community council confirms the vote passed and the Friday night movies will resume. Efforts to reach an understanding with chareidim failed, partly because elections are scheduled in the city’s minhalot community councils. The mayor reached an agreement, that the movies would stop for two months to permit talks in the hope of reaching agreement but this did not pan out. As a result, movies are set for this coming Shabbos. This has led to anger among the chareidi city councilmen, having learned the city representatives could have prevented it but they abstained in the vote. They are now blaming the mayor for giving a green light to renewed public chilul Shabbos, which is sponsored by the city’s arm, the local community council. City officials explain elections will be held soon and this will determine the character of the members of the local councils, which will then set policy in each community. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

The frum residents of the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of the capital have been fighting an uphill battle since the first ones moved in as there are elements in the community strongly opposed to the new religious atmosphere that prevails. They fought to establish minyanim and in the early days, were often compelled to appear in court for violating zoning laws, hosting minyanim in apartments. One of the strongholds of the old non-religious lifestyle appears to by the minhelet, the local community council that has much to say about the goings-on in the community. Despite a directive from City Hall against sponsoring chilul Shabbos entertainment, the minhelet continues to offer residents movies on Friday night. This is rapidly leading to a coalition crisis in Jerusalem City Hall as the chareidi councilmen have given Mayor Nir Barkat a two-week ultimatum, to stop the movies and shut down the minhelet or they are pulling out of the coalition government. Last Shabbos, hundreds of shomer Shabbos residents protested outside the minhelet when the movies were aired. This past Sunday, 7 Shevat, 16 members of Yahadut Hatorah, Shas, Bnei Torah and Bayit Yehudi serving in the Jerusalem City Council formulated a letter to the mayor, calling upon him to act as well as to cut any and all funding to the minhelet. They explained the chilul Shabbos is intolerable and a gross violation of the long-standing religious status quo in the city as the minhelet is an arm of the city government. Councilman Yitzchak Pindrus was of the opinion the minhelet must be brought down and Kiryat Yovel represents a watershed compelling the mayor to choose; either enforcing the religious status quo or lose the religious parties in his coalition. Councilman Chaim Epstein called for a total cessation of all chilul Shabbos in all city institutions. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Jerusalem Councilman (Yahadut Hatorah) Yitzchak Pindrus has given Mayor Nir Barkat an ultimatum, two weeks to stop the airing of movies in the Kiryat Yovel minhelet on Friday nights. Mayor Nir Barkat has released public statements calling on the Kiryat Yovel local community council (minhelet) to stop offering movies to area residents on Friday nights. http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/371268/jerusalem-mayor-barkat-orders-shutting-shabbos-movies-in-kiryat-yovel-minhal.html However the movies continue, as was the case this past Shabbos http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/374070/kiryat-yovel-community-council-continues-to-air-movies-on-shabbos.html and the frum councilman is unwilling to tolerate the mayor’s blasé attitude much longer, hence the two-week ultimatum. Deutsch announced the ultimatum during an interview with Noam Zeigman on Kol Berama Radio. The ultimatum comes at a time when more and more businesses are opening on Shabbos R”L in the capital despite City Hall insisting the religious status quo is being maintained. This past Shabbos, Parshas Bo, hundreds of mispallalim held a protest at the minhelet against the chilul Shabbos. Deutsch explained that he cannot permit this to continue and if the mayor cannot stop the chilul Shabbos, he will do his utmost to pull Yahadut Hatorah out of the city coalition government. Some members of the frum parties in the city council are expected to meet on Sunday evening to discuss a plan of action, which includes cutting funding to the Kiryat Yovel minhelet. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Adherence to the so-called religious status quo in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of the capital was ignored on yet another Shabbos as the minhelet community center once again R”L offered free movies to interested residents of Shabbos Kodesh. Despite a directive from Mayor Nir Barkat to halt the movies, explaining the religious status quo must be maintained, the local government appears to prefer to continue offering movies in the mixed neighborhood as the shomer Shabbos community within Kiryat Yovel continues to grow. A minhelet in a respective neighborhood is viewed as an extension of City Hall and is compelled to adhere to directives from City Hall but in this case, the secularist activists appear more interested in preventing their neighborhood from joining the growing chareidi population in Yerushalayim. Jerusalem Councilman (Bayit Yehudi) Dov Kalmanovich decried the Shabbos movies and the minhelet’s disregard for directives from City Hall. He stated a body operating under the control of City Hall may not continue doing as it wishes in total defiance of the directives from the mayor’s office. Kalmanovich adds the movies are a gross violation of the religious status quo to which the administration remains committed. Kalmanovich on Sunday, 22 Teves, held a kenos to strengthen shmiras Shabbos in the capital attended by Rabbi Chaim Druckman Shlita and roshei yeshivos affiliated with Bnei Akiva. Also in attendance were Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern Shlita and Petach Tikvah Chief Rabbi Micha Halevy Shlita. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has ordered to stopped showing movies on Shabbos in the Kiryat Yovel minhal (local government office). The mayor explains he remains committed to maintaining the Shabbos status quo in the city. The Yuvalim Minhal is the local government office for the area communities including Kiryat Yovel and it is located in Kiryat Yovel. The airing of movies in that location was brought to the mayor’s attention by the Shas and Yahadut Hatorah parties. The mayor responded, sending the minhal the directive on Wednesday, 4 Teves, to shut down the Shabbos movies. City Hall officials confirm the report, stressing the administration remains committed to maintaining the Shabbos status quo. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Jerusalem City Hall this week proudly announced the opening of a new branch of the Israel Scouts, in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood. Chareidi City Councilman R’ Shlomo Rosenstein sent an angry letter to Mayor Nir Barkat, pointing out that while he celebrates the new scouts’ facility, the discrimination against the growing number of chareidim in Kiryat Yovel continues. In his harshly written letter to the mayor Rosenstein writes “Today I saw the photos of the housewarming of the Kiryat Yovel scouts. There is no limit to the chutzpah and shame. The 1,500 chareidi families in the neighborhood are regularly and systematically discriminated against in an apartheid fashion regarding all activities pertaining to the local minhal (community government) and this is all with silent support of the mayor and the city administration”. Rosenstein continues, explaining that while there is joy over the new scouts’ facility, the chareidi children are subjected to deplorable conditions. “I saw the smiles of the participants in the housewarming who were aware of yet another victory against the chareidim in the city administration for they are unable to advance anything, even towards preventing the discrimination against the children”. Rosenstein explains the victory for the anti-chareidim is twofold as they have their scouting facility and thereby prevent the chareidim from using another building. He speaks of the apartheid policies when it comes to Kiryat Yovel’s chareidi families, and how City Hall “spits in our faces, laughs at us, and smiles for the cameras for another structure perpetuates the shame”. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

The battle against the growing chareidi presence in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of Yerushalayim continues as there is now opposition to authorization given to a number of daycare centers serving the chareidi tzibur. The city’s planning council this past week authorized a number of chareidi daycare centers. The city coalition was divided as representatives of the mayor abstained. The representatives of the Hisorarus party opposed the authorization and the chareidim supported it. As a result the authorization was granted for a five-year period. Hisorarus officials’ are angered as they continue their battle against the chareidim. Deputy Mayor (Hisorarus) Ofir Berkowitz has begun circulating a petition and launched a Facebook effort calling on his supporters in Kiryat Yovel to fight the authorization given retroactively for the chareidi daycare centers. He explains the community is at a ‘critical junction” and if the chareidim are not stopped the area will be overrun by the chareidi presence. Berkowitz explains the planning committee is controlled by Yahadut Hatorah and this is how the chareidim succeeded in having the illegal daycare centers authorized retroactively. Berkowitz warns his supporters that the decision will impact the character of the community and residents mustn’t remain apathetic. “We have a mandate from the tzibur to protect on the character of Yerushalayim, to protect the regular neighborhoods of the city. We, those who voted for the mayor, wish to remind him. We and many others support him”. “We feel efforts must be made to find solutions for the chareidi public, quality solutions, in the neighborhood of Bayit Vegans, which is near Kiryat Yovel. It is only 550 meters away. This will permit us to protect the community and any attempt that poses a threat to the delicate balance by authorizing the illegal daycare centers, are improper for Jerusalem and improper government rule”. Berkowitz concludes, “Come and sign the petition and clarify to the mayor just what Kiryat Yovel residents want. Jerusalem is important to us and the decision must be changed! Together we can influence and secure the future of the character of the neighborhood”. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

It appears that a number of politically active secularists have succeeded in obtaining City Hall approval to operate a café in the Kiryat Yovel area of Yerushalayim. This café will be operating all week, including Shabbos. The café will operate like a co-op and residents will buy shares and man the business. The idea reportedly came from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who told reporters in the past “Jerusalem should resemble Berlin, Amsterdam and Dublin where they have pubs and cafes under almost every apartment building.” The organizers feel that they have found a way to prevent chareidi opposition, indicating they will not accept cash on Shabbos but prepaid cards that can be punched by employees when a purchase is made. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Ichud Hatzalah responded to a reported stabbing incident on Stern Street in the Kiryat Yovel area of Yerushalayim on Tuesday, 1 Rosh Chodesh Elul 5773. The victim was stabbed in his upper body. Police report that the motive for the attack is not known but a terror attack is not being ruled out. Ichud Hatzalah reported that at the time of transport the victim was in light-to-moderate condition. MDA transported the victim to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos. (YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photos: Eden Agai, Chadashot 24)