250 state-religious students left without a school in Ashdod: "The municipality is surrendering to Shas"
The students were left without an educational framework, and according to their parents, the reason is the opposition of the ultra-Orthodox parties to schools that teach a full core curriculum. "Political figures in the municipality, led by a representative from Shas, are inciting against the establishment of the state-religious school," they attacked. The municipality: "The institution was established without the knowledge or approval of the authority. We are working to find a proper solution."
Instead of excitedly starting the school year like most of Israel's children, students of the state-religious school in Ashdod arrived on Tuesday to protest in front of the municipality. They claim that the city does not allocate a proper building for ultra-Orthodox children who want to study in the state-religious education system, which includes a full core curriculum under the Ministry of Education, due to pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties that oppose such frameworks.
This concerns the state-religious Talmud Torah 'Merkaz Vizhnitz' in Ashdod and a state-religious school for girls, which together have more than 250 students left without a roof over their heads. Parents of the children stated: "Political figures in the Ashdod municipality, led by a representative on behalf of the Shas party, are inciting against the establishment of the state-religious school. They are creating endless difficulties and we, the parents, are left without an answer."
According to the parents, they arrived at the municipality several times to discuss the situation. "At first, we were told that they didn't know us at all, and after the facts were presented, it was no longer possible to say that they didn't know us. The conversations reached a dead end without a compromise. We don't have an official representative in the municipality who represents the state-religious school in the city, which is another failure. We are at a loss and very frustrated; the municipality surrenders time after time to threats from Shas and does not provide us with a proper place."
MK Moshe Turpaz (Yesh Atid), who joined the protest, noted that an ultra-Orthodox resident told him: "I am ashamed that you are here and not a representative that I chose." Turpaz added that the desire to study in a state-religious education system, which combines a strict religious level alongside core studies, should be supported. "When we return to power, state-religious education will be the preferred option, so that ultra-Orthodox students can also study as they wish."
The Ashdod municipality stated in response: "The local authority has been working for some time to find a proper response to the needs of the educational institution and for the well-being of its students. The authority legally allocated land for the construction of a permanent building and is currently waiting for the approval of the Ministry of Education. As a response for the interim period, requests for mobile structures were submitted. It should be noted that the institution was established from the outset without the knowledge or approval of the authority. Despite this, the authority agreed to recognize it as a state-religious institution, based on the owners' declaration that they do not need buildings from the authority. In practice, it turned out that the declaration does not match the needs of the institution. Despite the above, the authority is making real efforts to find a solution. However, as of now, it does not have available buildings that can be made available to the institution immediately."
