Defeat for Belz • Will be evacuated from the Great Synagogue in Haifa

The long saga surrounding the Great Synagogue in Hadar suburb in Haifa comes to an end:

After many years during which there was a struggle for control over the structure in the center of Hadar Carmel, and whose worth is estimated at millions of shekels, yesterday (Tues.) the Magistrate's Court ruled that the eviction order which the Haifa Municipality issued - in order to regain control and sole responsibility – is valid.

The Great Synagogue in the city has many halls and is a very valuable asset.

The decision, issued by Judge Yoav Friedman, was submitted yesterday after more than 3 years in which there were discussions regarding the eviction order.

The beginning of the affair was six years ago, when Rabbi She'er Yishuv Hacohen, the Rav of the city, contacted the Chabad Chassidus which numbers about 300 families, with a request to enter the structure to revive it and bring it back to blessed activity.

A short time passed, and the municipality demanded to place into building the religious council offices. To do so, it required from Chabad to evacuate the building, so that it could make some renovations, after which they could return and enter the building.

After some renovations, and after the council placed its offices in the building, Belz Hasidim invaded the building- and the Chabad Hasidim remained outside. The Chassidus claimed that it has an agreement with the organization of the synagogue. Later, Gur also penetrated one of the halls, and a long battle ensued between Belz and Gur, and in some cases the police had to intervene and separate the warring sides.

At the time, attorney Yosef Bloi on behalf of Chabad filed an administrative appeal against the Haifa Municipality, claiming that it is the only one who holds the responsibility to distribute the building by an organized assignment process. The municipality responded that it could not make a distribution of the site due to the debate around it.

At the same time, the municipality issued at the Magistrate Court an eviction order against the invaders of the structure.

Belzer Chassidus responded to the request to issue the order, arguing that on legal grounds the municipality can not require it. In Chabad, in contrast, they joined the order as another party, at the request of the municipality. The court accepted the Belz standing. The municipality appealed to the District Court regarding the decision, and there it won, so that the request to issue the order went back to the Magistrates Court.

Yesterday the affair ended, when Judge Friedman ruled in the court hearing that the issuance of the order is legally possible, despite the claims of the Belz Hasidim, and therefore - the invaders must evacuate the building within 30 days.

A knowledgeable source concludes in a conversation with Behadrey Haredim: "The decision of the court proved that the owner and the one responsible for the division of the building is the Haifa municipality, we hope now it will be smart enough to divide the building by allocating the building according to the size of each Hassidus in the area ".

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!