Haifa Municipality Accused of Illegally Evicting Haredi School, Damaging Property
The Independent Education network has filed an urgent administrative petition with the Haifa District Court against the Haifa Municipality and the Ministry of Education. The petition stems from an alleged attempt by municipal officials to evacuate parts of the building housing the "Beit Yaakov" Haredi girls' school on HaGiborim Street 17, Haifa.
According to the network, municipal representatives entered the building at night and began removing classrooms and other school facilities, allegedly breaking equipment and tearing mezuzahs from doorposts. The network claims this action was taken without prior notice and in violation of a previous court ruling from February 2025. That ruling stipulated that the school would not be evacuated until the municipality reviewed the network's updated allocation request for the building "with an open heart and willing spirit" within a reasonable time.
The Independent Education network states it submitted a detailed allocation request in March 2025, but no discussion or decision has been made for over a year. They assert that professional opinions support allocating a larger space than the current building for a school of 16 classrooms, accommodating approximately 360 students.
Despite the municipality informing the network on September 3rd that the allocation request review was ongoing, the alleged eviction attempt occurred four days later. The evacuation was halted when police arrived at the scene. Haifa City Council member Miki Alper presented the previous court ruling and other documents to the officers, leading to the police ordering the municipal representatives to cease their actions.
The Independent Education network is now seeking an immediate halt to any further evacuation attempts and an order for the municipality to address their allocation request. The court has scheduled the petition and request for a temporary injunction for review on Monday, September 14th, by Judge Baumgarten, who also handled the previous case concerning the building.