Bnei Brak School Gates Welded Shut Amid Religious Tensions
Students arriving at the "Afikim" state-religious school in Bnei Brak on Monday morning discovered the school's iron gates had been welded shut. Parents allege this is part of ongoing harassment by the municipality, which they claim opposes the co-educational school, and by residents who object to boys and girls learning together. One mother described the situation as a "nightmare" since a rocket strike early in the war damaged the school, shattering windows and leading to a year of learning in "deplorable conditions" in a temporary location within a yeshiva, lacking air conditioning, proper restrooms, and suffering from sewage floods and power outages.
Parents expressed frustration over repeated promises of relocation and renovation that never materialized, only to see the original building refurbished for another purpose. While the school recently moved to a new building, the harassment has continued, with parents citing the municipality's initial failure to provide a proper entrance sign and later installing a sign exclusively for girls. The welding of the main gate on Monday morning, forcing parents to call the police to cut it open for the children to enter, was described as the "shocking peak" of these actions.
The mother further stated that the municipality prevents religious and traditional students from enrolling in schools in Ramat Gan while failing to provide adequate facilities in Bnei Brak. The school principal filed a police report after the gates were breached. A spokesperson for the Bnei Brak municipality denied the city's involvement, attributing the welding to an "extreme neighbor." The municipality claimed it had invested significantly in creating separate, designated entrances for various educational institutions in the area, including "Afikim," but that the school's administration ignored these arrangements and opted for a "populist move" by refusing to use the designated entrance.
The municipality asserted that claims of discrimination are baseless, highlighting their efforts to find suitable alternatives for all affected schools after the rocket attack. They stated that a dedicated building was prepared for "Afikim" with hundreds of thousands of shekels invested, and additional funds were spent to adapt the current complex when the Ministry of Education proposed relocating the institution. A teacher from the school contradicted the municipality's account, claiming all gates were locked "to show us we have no place." The mother added that the rear gate was also locked, as it was not properly regulated by the Ministry of Education, suggesting the action was intended to prevent religious Zionists from being seen entering the same complex as the nearby Haredi kindergarten.
