Haredi MKs criticize facilities for haredi kindergartens in Jerusalem

Lawmakers were aghast at the lack of appropriate premises for two kindergartens in the capital’s Ramot neighborhood.

By JEREMY SHARON
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are taught in school. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are taught in school.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Haredi MKs and members of the Jerusalem municipal council spoke out strongly on Monday against the lack of appropriate premises for two kindergartens in the capital’s Ramot neighborhood.
MKs Moshe Gafni, Uri Maklev and Ya’acov Asher (United Torah Judaism), along with city council members Yisrael Kalerman and Eliezer Rochberger, visited Ramot on Monday, the first day of the school year.
They called on one kindergarten in the Ramot Aleph neighborhood that is currently using a bomb shelter, and visited another, with 31 children, in a private residence in Ramot Bet.
“It’s moving to see the children so happy on the first day of the year, but at the same time sad to see the conditions they’re learning in,” said Gafni.
According to Maklev, “This is a malicious and evil policy of the municipal council, and the person who stands at its head must provide minimal services.”
In response to these and other comments, the Jerusalem municipal administration said it was committed to all sectors of the city’s population.
“The department for haredi education has been prepared for the new school year with intensive investment, including construction, refurbishment of public infrastructure as well as placement in the haredi sector in the most appropriate way in accordance with the needs of the public,” the municipality said in a statement.
Yet the statement conceded a major point.
“It is clear that there are places requiring further investment in order to reduce the shortcomings that exist in educational infrastructure in haredi neighborhoods,” it said.