Court Upholds Arbitration Ruling Requiring Rival Faction to Leave Ponovezh Yeshiva Premises

The Tel Aviv District Court has upheld the arbitration award issued by retired Judge David Cheshin in November 2025, resolving a long-standing legal dispute over the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Judge Yehudit Shevach rejected a petition to annul the arbitration ruling, declaring it final and binding. According to the decision, students affiliated with Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz, labeled by the court as the "terrorists" faction, must vacate the yeshiva premises by September 30. Additionally, Rabbi Markovitz and his group are ordered to pay approximately 10 million shekels, including 7.5 million shekels for usage fees and 2.5 million shekels for building maintenance costs, plus VAT. They must also cover legal expenses and attorney fees amounting to 75,000 shekels.

The ruling imposes significant restrictions on Rabbi Markovitz's activities, barring him and his followers from using the "Ponovezh Yeshiva" name or logo and forbidding him from presenting himself as the yeshiva's head. Judge Shevach stated that Markovitz's rights as head of the yeshiva expired due to his conduct over the years, including establishing a "yeshiva within a yeshiva" and escalating the conflict. The court clarified that the arbitration award does not contradict previous judicial decisions but rather reflects rights forfeited due to later actions.

The dispute dates back to the leadership succession struggle following the death of Rabbi Avraham Kahaneman, son of the yeshiva's founder Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman. After Rabbi Avraham's passing in 2009, tensions intensified between his son Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman and his son-in-law Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz, each claiming leadership. An arbitration panel in the early 2000s initially ruled for a shared leadership among three rabbis, including Markovitz, but this arrangement failed in practice, leading to violent incidents and a split in 2007 into two separate institutions sharing the same building.

The factions have been known disparagingly as the "haters" (supporters of Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman) and the "terrorists" (followers of Rabbi Markovitz). The court-appointed arbitrator, Judge Cheshin, has been working since 2021 to mediate a resolution. Markovitz's faction announced plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.