Ultra-Orthodox Residents Pray in Mayor's Office Amid Synagogue Dispute
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox residents protested in the Modiin Illit mayor's office on Wednesday, praying with prayer shawls and phylacteries to demand a permanent synagogue in the Gan Ha'hadas neighborhood. The protest follows an occupation of a new public building and alleged broken promises by the municipality regarding space allocation. Residents are demanding a permanent synagogue and parking solutions, vowing to continue their actions.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Dozens of ultra-Orthodox residents prayed in the Modiin Illit mayor's office on Wednesday to protest a synagogue shortage.
- Residents of Gan Ha'hadas claim hundreds of families lack a permanent synagogue, using a small trailer instead.
- The dispute centers on a public building where residents were promised synagogue space but offered an inadequate third-floor location.
- Residents previously occupied the new public building with rabbinical approval in late August.
- The mayor, Yaakov Gutterman, was not present during the protest prayers.
- Residents also demand solutions for parking shortages and plan to continue their protests.
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox men, known as 'avreichim,' held morning prayers, complete with prayer shawls and phylacteries, inside the office of Modiin Illit Mayor Yaakov Gutterman on Wednesday. This act of protest is part of an ongoing dispute by residents of the Gan Ha'hadas neighborhood over the establishment of a permanent local synagogue.
The prayer service followed an evening study session held by the same residents in the mayor's office the previous night, both protests stemming from the lack of a satisfactory solution to the neighborhood's synagogue shortage. Mayor Gutterman was not present during the morning prayers.
Residents of Gan Ha'hadas claim that hundreds of families live in the neighborhood but lack a proper, permanent synagogue, forcing them to use a small trailer. The core of the dispute involves a public building constructed in the neighborhood. Residents allege they were initially promised a portion of this building for a synagogue, but were later offered a space on the third floor, which they deem inadequate for their needs.
The municipality had reportedly planned to allocate a suitable space for the synagogue above the garden level of the new building. However, they later rescinded this allocation, offering only the partial space on the third floor, a proposal the residents reject as impractical for hundreds of families.
In late August, angry residents, with the approval of prominent rabbis, occupied the new public building to protest what they called a blatant breach of promise by the municipality. One prominent rabbi, Rosh Yeshiva Moshe Hillel Hirsch, even instructed those involved to remove furniture from the building after Shabbat and return it to the trailer.
Sources indicate that the residents intend to continue their protest in the coming days, potentially including further prayer services and study sessions at the city hall. The residents are demanding a permanent solution for the synagogue issue, as well as addressing parking shortages in the neighborhood, and have stated they will not back down from their demands.
