Parents win court battle to move kindergarten

A Tel Aviv District Court judge decided that the parents were justified in being worried about the transformer's proximity to the building.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Parents of 70 kindergarten children, whom the city had temporarily housed in a building next to an electrical transformer, have won their battle to have their children placed elsewhere, reports www.local.co.il. A Tel Aviv District Court judge decided that the parents were justified in being worried about the transformer's proximity to the building, and ordered the city to find a new kindergarten elsewhere. According to the report, the parents went to court after the city decided some months ago to renovate two adjoining kindergartens in the Bavli neighborhood and to rehouse the children temporarily in a building on Rehov Yehuda Hamaccabi. When parents protested, the city tested the electromagnetic radiation in the area, and found it to be within acceptable levels. But disbelieving parents ordered their own tests, which found much higher levels of radiation. Many parents have refused to send their children to the kindergarten since the move, and at the same time appealed to the court. Representatives of the city and of the Israel Electric Corporation told the court the electromagnetic radiation levels did not present any danger to the children, and the IEC representative said the company was planning work to reduce the radiation levels. But a judge decided in the parents' favor, ordering the city to find a new temporary kindergarten immediately. A municipal spokesman said the city would "act in accordance with the instructions of the court."