The City of Beit Shemesh began to send letters to about 90
municipality workers early this week, summoning them to
appear before a hearing committee before being dismissed from
their jobs. Three of the city's four chareidi workers are
among those facing dismissal.
Several months ago the City of Beit Shemesh began to
implement a recovery program, including plans to fire
approximately 45 workers and force the retirement of another
45 ahead of schedule. Of the approximately 500 municipality
workers less than one percent come from the chareidi sector,
even though it now accounts for about 40 percent of the total
population, kein yirbu.
The three chareidi employees summoned to the committee, a
procedure required by law before dismissing municipal
workers, are Rabbi Shmuel Greenberg, director of the Chein
Chareidi Department (Torah Culture), Avi Cohen, director of
the Sephardic Chareidi Education Department, and Assaf Matri,
head of the Torah Culture Department. Many chareidi figures
are concerned that their dismissal will lead to demonstrable
disregard for the needs of the city's chareidi sector.
During the three years since Rabbi Greenberg assumed his
post, for example, several dozen Torah events were held at
botei knesses and educational institutions every year
including camps during vacation periods, holiday events and
other special events. This year the city's chareidi residents
are bound to feel the absence of the Chein Chareidi
Department and its director when summer and later the holiday
season arrive; even if the City of Beit Shemesh chooses to
organize Torah events in chareidi neighborhoods it won't know
how.
A similar deficiency is likely to be seen in the area of
education. In Beit Shemesh, 55 percent of all students are
enrolled in the chareidi education system yet now there will
be nobody seeing to the needs of these 10,000 students.
UTJ City Council members said on Monday they hope the three
workers will succeed in convincing the Hearing Committee to
reverse the decision to let them go when they appear before
it on Sunday. The Interior Ministry has already approved the
list of firings but the Histadrut has yet to approve it.
Immediately following the last elections Rabbi Chaim
Friedman, director of the Ashkenazi Chareidi Education
Department, was fired along with Rabbi Chanoch Dargner,
deputy chairman of the Religious Council representing UTJ.
The city's chareidi parties claim the dismissal of the
chareidi workers was a political move against the chareidi
community in response to its support for Natan Shetreet for
mayor over Likud mayor Daniel Vaknin based on directives
issued by local rabbonim. Vaknin has been at odds with the
chareidi community for years, even though he wears a
kippah.
Degel HaTorah secretary MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said the large
chareidi sector in Beit Shemesh includes "very talented
people and very few worked in the municipality. To go and
fire them when there are almost no workers from the chareidi
sector in the City of Beit Shemesh is tantamount to political
firings. This is very grave from every possible perspective,
not to speak of the skill, professionalism and dedication of
the chareidi workers."
