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Jul 11, 2011

Haredim Want To Move Har Hotzvim

Har Hotzvim, courtesy of Reb Akiva
Is the Har Hotzvim Technological Park going to move to a different part of Jerusalem, or perhaps even out of the city?

The Haredi factions of Jerusalem seem to have set their sights on Har Hotzvim as the target of the next religious-secular battle for the city.

Mynet is reporting that haredi councilmen have announced their intention to get Har Hotzvim moved away from its current location, and sent letters to the Minister of Interior Eli Yishai, to the Minister of Housing Ariel Attias, and to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat starting the process. In their letters they state that it was a historic mistake to establish the technological park in the current location, as it borders haredi neighborhoods from every side - Sanhedria Murhevet, Kiryat Sanz, Ezras Torah, Ramat Shlomo (aka Shuafat) and Ramot. They request an immediate discussion be opened to stop the development of the industrial park beyond it's current size, and to begin considering moving it to a different part of the city.

Har Hotzvim, courtesy of Reb Akiva
They claim the responsibility to consider the welfare of the residents of these surrounding neighborhoods, as much as of the economic development of Jerusalem, and the establishment of industrial and hi-tech parks in the appropriate places.. Being that some of the companies located in this location are open and manufacture on Shabbos, it is inappropriate to be located in such close proximity to haredi neighborhoods.

Will they be successful? I cannot imagine it, though it is only the beginning of the issue and one never knows how these things can develop.

Are they delusional to even raise the issue? Do they see no need for this industrial park that employs thousands of people? Do they think the cost of building a new industrial park and moving all these companies will be reasonable? Perhaps if a new park was being planned, I could see the rationale in suggesting it be in one place over another - based on a wide variety of factors, but to move the entire Har Hotzvim?

What's your take on this?

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5 comments:

  1. Delusional. This is another example of a ridiculous campaign started by bored askanim with nothing better to do than cause trouble. Are they going to pay for the move and damages to be paid to all the property owners and companies in Har Hotzvim? And what about all the haredi workers in Har Hotzim? I work there and about half of the thousand workers in our office are haredim. This attitude by the askanim that places of work are a hiloni plot against ne-emanei hatorah (who of course don't need offices to work in) is mirrored perfectly in the reaction of the talkbacks below the article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Having a major clean-tech oriented industrial park next to your neighborhood is a major bracha! People can literally walk down the street to work!

    By the way, Mishpacha magazine is located in the park. So is some administrative offices of the Prison Service, Bituach Leumi (where half the employees are dati or charedi), IDT (which is running US call centers staffed with anglo-Israeli immigrants, most from charedi communities), etc.

    These people are nuts, they're anti-work.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Double standard.

    Having HaR Hotzvim is an "infringement" on Charedim but the takeover by them of chiloni or mixed neighborhoods is fine.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think they just want to "trade" this for some other area that will be chareidi.

    They will take some other neighborhood over, and then blame it on not having their own space. Brilliant move.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Screw the Charedim! Har Chotzvim is one of the few parts of Yerushalaim that brings money into the city rather than just drain money from the city (like many of the Charedim do).

    Must be Bein Hazmanim!

    ReplyDelete

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