It used to be that various cities would try to block visitors from other cities, usually from Haredi cities, from visiting and enjoying the local parks, crowding the park and leaving their mess behind. They did this by making rules that local residents can enter for free but non-locals would have to pay an entrance fee.

People would get upset, words would be exchanged, protests with the Ministry of Interior would be filed, MoI would express outrage at such anti-haredi moves, and eventually the decision would be reversed and the park would, usually, remain open and free for all.

It seems from this Mako News report that the Ministry of Interior is now being proactive and changing tactics. Instead of insisting, as they have in the past, that the parks remain free for all, they are now initiating a plan by which the parks will be open to all but will all charge an entrance fee.

The new rule would have any public park larger than 100 dunam can have an entrance fee. The fee will be decided practically by the local municipal government and it will be dependent upon the expense of cleaning and maintaining the park. According to the MoI, the local authorities are in favor of this arrangement.

A citizens rights watchdog does not like this potential arrangement suggesting that it will cause a division among the people with there being parks for rich people and parks for poor people. Being that this plan is in the initial stages, now is the time to protest it in the hopes that it will be canceled and not advanced.

I am not sure if this is going forward or backwards.

I would at least hope and expect that if this goes through and they start charging an entrance fee that will will at least actually clean and maintain the parks properly, including having the water fountains working along with trash pickup.

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