Jerusalem: 200 students sit at home. Exposure

200 school students from Emunat Tzion of the Ma'ayan Hachinuch Hatorani network, are sitting in their homes since last Wednesday, with no apparent solution for the plight facing the building with which the school administration is dealing.

The school principal and parents - who are trying to promote a possible solution in every way - blame: "The municipality and the network are throwing us one to the other, no one takes responsibility."

The story begins when at the end of the previous school year, a letter arrived at the school board from the Ministry of Health, according to which in the school building situated on Ezra street in the Bukharim neighborhood, Jerusalem - there are many defects which need repair, and therefore learning in the school building is not approved.

The management panicked as a result of the letter and turned to the Jerusalem Municipality, which, according to them, promised to take care of the matter within two months.

But the new school year opened, and the promise was not kept. Last Tuesday, the parents received a letter sent by the school administration: "Tomorrow there will be no school, due to order of the Ministry of Health, as we were unable to find an alternative structure."

So since last Wednesday - the girls are sitting in their homes.

Nachman Zadok the father of a student in Grade 1, describes in a talk with Behadrey Haredim the dismal situation: "We got the message out of the blue, we are trying all options, but no one gives us an answer. In the meantime they are playing "throw the ball" with us from one office to another, my daughter and dozens of other girls sitting at home, without an apparent solution."

"It seems that everything is a political game," said Zadok. "If we had the power in the municipality or elsewhere - things could have been different."

Another parent, who declined to give his name, said: "In recent days, I had to stop my studies at the Kollel since there is no one to look after the child at home. Every three hours I'm trying to find out whether the situation is progressing. But no one has answers."

The school principal, Harav Mordechai Stern, explains that the current situation "is an impossible situation, intolerable. We can not pull solutions out of our sleeve or invent them, and on the other hand we can not rent a place that will cost us almost a million shekels a year.

"I talk to parents all the time, I understand the difficulty, and they need to understand that the public representatives are unable to help. Because everyone is trying to help, but not enough. The damages of girls sitting at home, are irreversible. We are dealing with girls from families who are Ba'alei Tshuva, and every day for them within the institution, is critical. "

Rabbi Stern notes that a year ago, the mayor, Nir Barkat, came for a tour of the building, before receiving the letter from the Ministry of Health, noticed the plight with which the students are dealing - and promised to address the issue. "Nothing has been done so far," he says somberly.

The Jerusalem municipality said in response to Behadrey Haredim: "The claims are not true. The Emunat Tzion is a school which is a recognized but unofficial, and therefore all responsibility for proper management is on the management of the private organization which manages it. It is the responsibility of the school administration and the association to take care of issuing a license and additional approvals to activate the school from the Ministry of Education.

"Notwithstanding the above said, the municipality is in contact with the school administration to help as much as possible to find temporary solutions until a final solution for the school on Shimon Hatzadik street; the issue is being dealt with by all the professionals in order to promote it."

The Ma'ayan Hatorani network responded: "At the beginning of the school year, Minister Meshulam Nahari met with the school principal and deputy mayor, Yitzchak Pindrus, responsible for the management of Haredi education in the municipality. They portrayed the plight, and offered an alternative to the structure on Shmuel Hanavi street. Minister Nahari confirmed the budget and submitted documents to the Ministry of Education, now we are trying to find a temporary solution to the problem of the existing building and to prepare it for a further period until the construction of the new building."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!