Tempers are heating up at Chinuch Atzmai and within Raanana's
observant residents, in light of ongoing efforts by secular
figures in the city to sabotage the local Bais Yaakov
secondary school. The issue came to a head recently when a
court ordered the school closed on the grounds that classes
are held in a structure that the municipality did not approve
for non-residential use.
Founded ten years ago, today the high school draws 80
students from Raanana, Kfar Saba, Herzliya, Rosh Ha'ayin, Hod
Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon. Under its principal, Mrs. P.
Bruner, the school has earned a reputation for scholastic
achievement and has a positive spiritual impact on the entire
city, which irks local Meretz activists who have been trying
for years to remove the school from the city's jurisdiction.
Since its founding, the school has had to roam from one
location to another and to wage constant legal battles. The
school's only request from the city was to allocate a
suitable lot to build on or to approve the existing structure
for non-residential use. But the city's anti-religious forces
exerted pressure to undermine the school.
Recently, the battle reached a peak when the Court for
Municipal Affairs in Raanana ruled that the school sits on
land zoned for residential use and issued a court order to
close the school immediately — in the middle of the
school year. The court even fined the Chinuch Atzmai
administration and Mrs. Bruner, who also received a suspended
six-month jail sentence.
Since last week's court order, the students, with their
parents' encouragement, have been holding classes at the
large beis knesses in the city, located on
municipality premises. The students are determined to keep
the school going at any cost and hoping to find a suitable
place for classes. MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni has raised the issue
in the Knesset on several occasions and has worked hard to
promote the school's rights.
Last week, Rabbi Avrohom Yosef Lazerson, one of the heads of
Chinuch Atzmai, arrived at the site and held an urgent
meeting with Raanana Mayor Mr. Nachum Chofri and his top
aides, describing to them the public fury over the ongoing
persecution of the outstanding school based on clearly anti-
religious motivations and demanded that he find an immediate
solution. He also said that the Chinuch Atzmai administration
is determined to defend the school, which provides an
education not just for Raanana residents but also for other
students arriving from far and wide.
During the visit Rabbi Lazerson also offered words of
chizuk to the students and teaching staff compelled to
confront stiff challenges to raise aloft the banner of
chareidi education for bnos Yisroel.
The issue was also raised during the opening session of a
recent workshop for Bais Yaakov principals from around the
country, held at the Nir Etzion Hotel, and a letter of
encouragement was sent to Mrs. Bruner from Rabbi Lazerson,
Rabbi Luria and the entire Chinuch Atzmai system.
