|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
IN-DEPTH FEATURES
A recent study showed that the elementary chareidi school
system in Eretz Yisroel accounts for approximately a quarter
of the students entire Israeli elementary school system. This
trend is on the increase to such an extent that natural
demographic development will, within a few short years,
result in chareidi pupils forming the clear majority. Some
people believe that this is the reason for the harassment by
the Education Ministry and other bodies, who try to interfere
with the curricula in chareidi schools and to give them a bad
name.
The research paper, written by Nochum Balas and Yigal Duchan
from The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel,
studies the movement of pupils from one educational system to
another. For example, every year some 1,700 children change
to the secular system (mamlachti) from the government-
religious system (mamlachti dati) — in other
words, they remove their yarmulke. However, about
1,300 children move in the opposite direction, changing from
the secular system to the government- religious, leaving the
secular system with a net gain of 400 pupils. Overall, the
study reveals that approximately 12 percent of sixth graders,
or around 4,000 pupils from the government-religious sector,
have left the system in the last two years in favor of the
secular system.
While the usual excuse for the Education Ministry's attempts
to meddle in the chareidi education system is the transfer of
non-religious children to Chinuch Atzmai schools, it can be
seen, at least according to the Taub Center study, that this
is simply not true. The study shows that the number of pupils
leaving the government systems for the chareidi one is
extremely small.
It seems rather that those in charge of secular education in
Eretz Yisroel are losing sleep over the natural
increase in the number of pupils in the chareidi system. They
now comprise, ka"h, a full quarter of the country's
entire elementary school population. "The rise in the
proportion of chareidi education within the general education
system has occurred due to the different demographic increase
in each sector and not to the transfer between the various
streams in the education system," note the authors of the
study.
Jerusalem Numbers Continue to Rise
We set out to investigate the rise in the number of chareidi
pupils in the major chareidi areas. The figures show an
impressive increase across all of Eretz Yisroel.
We began in Jerusalem, where the numbers in chareidi
education continue to rise. The municipal statistics show
that chareidi pupils comprise 43.6 percent of the total
number this year. 30.8 percent of the pupils were in the
state system, and 25.5 percent were Arab pupils. This is
significantly higher than last year when "only" 39 percent of
the total number of pupils was chareidi.
These statistics continue the striking growth pattern in the
chareidi education system over the last five years, which has
reached approximately 15 percent per year! Indeed, this rise
comes at a time when the state Jewish system dropped by 870
pupils, or 1.3 percent.
The official figures show that 86,612 pupils are enrolled in
chareidi educational institutions in Jerusalem for the 5767
school year, a 2.2 percent increase over 5766. The government-
religious and secular streams total 61,317 pupils, and the
Arab stream has 50,715 pupils. All in all a total of 198,644
pupils.
The municipal Department for Chareidi Education says that it
has opened fifteen new preschools in addition to the 653
existing ones; as well as another six first-grade classes
joining the 74 existing classes. Pupils under the Department
for Chareidi Education study in 1,012 educational
institutions in 3,338 classes with an average of 27 pupils
per class. The Chareidi Educational Department spent close to
NIS 20 million on renovations and redecoration of school and
preschool buildings.
A few more statistics: The most popular boys' name this year
among chareidi pupils is Dovid, closely followed by Yehuda
and Yosef. Among the girls Soroh leads, followed by Rivka and
Esther. The areas with the largest number of first- graders
are Ramat Shlomo, Neveh Yaakov, and Ramot Dalet.
Free School Books
The Department for Chareidi Education adds that tens of
thousands of schoolbooks were distributed to chareidi pupils
by the municipality together with the Salsala Organization.
The books, most of which were new, as well as some used ones
which were rebound by volunteers, were lent out to the pupils
on the proviso that they would be returned to the school
secretary at the end of the year for the use of other pupils
in the future. In addition hundreds of reference books were
provided in order to form class libraries, relieving the
pupils of the need to carry heavy books to school.
The Salsala Project was established to ease the burden of
large families by reducing the substantial expense incurred
in purchasing brand new school books. Parents who enrolled
their children in the project paid a token price of between
two and five shekels per book. Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky
said that he sees running the project as an issue of great
importance and added that he would act to also involve
various bodies from outside the municipality.
He told us, "There are families with eight, ten or even more
children who do not have the means to buy dozens of
schoolbooks every year for each child. We have to do our
utmost to ensure that these families will be able to provide
their children with the best possible education."
Within the framework of the project, the originators also
negotiate with the various publishing companies to order
wholesale quantities of basic texts and workbooks, with the
aim of substantially reducing the prices, and also bringing
about the production of books which are made to last. The
project is also active within the school curriculum to
instill pupils' awareness of the importance of taking care of
schoolbooks. Those who started the project also show concern
for the children's health. Heavy books, including Sefer
HaTodo'oh (The Book of our Heritage) and atlases,
are made available to the pupils in their classroom, sparing
them from carrying heavy books on their backs to school each
day.
The Salsala Project is under the sponsorship of the Jerusalem
Municipal Department for Chareidi Education, headed by Rabbi
Binyomin Cohen, for the second consecutive year. Last year
the project was launched as a pilot scheme in Neveh Yaakov
and this year other Neveh Yaakov institutions together with
institutions in Ramot, the Bukharian district, and the city
center have joined in. These schools were chosen due to being
identified as having special needs as well as due to the
willingness of their principals to take part. The project is
expected to expand to other areas next year and to benefit
thousands of additional pupils.
Bnei Brak: Millions for Renovations
Bnei Brak's schools, preschools and educational institutions
are attended by a total 54,750 children this year, 950 more
than last year's 53,800. There are 26,150 pupils in 86
educational institutions in elementary education; 14,150 in
27 Chinuch Atzmai and Maayan Hachinuch schools; 11,000 in 46
public and private talmudei Torah; 900 in four
government-religious schools and 360 in the city's one
secular elementary school.
There are 16,000 students enrolled in high-school-age
institutions: 8,000 in yeshivos ketanos; 6,079 girls
in thirteen chareidi high schools and seminaries; 1,500
pupils in four government-religious schools and 421 students
in the city's one secular government high school.
Of the 4,814 preschoolers, 4,332 are enrolled in chareidi
preschools, an increase of 380 children; 402 in government-
religious and 80 in secular preschool. Six new preschool
classes were opened, solving the problems of those pre-
schools which were in trailers last year. In addition five
new first-grade classes opened in Bais Yaakov schools in the
city.
The Municipality, with the approval of the Education
Ministry, carried out improvements to the infrastructure in
seven schools, at a cost of NIS 1,477,500. Furniture for the
new classrooms cost approximately NIS 900,000. General
improvements were made at a number of seminaries for a total
cost of NIS 4,020,000.
The Ateres Rochel Seminary moved from rented facilities into
its new premises on the Elitzur plot. A new Koter Payis
building was built at the Meir high-school seminary on
Aharonowitz Street. The first stage of the work to provide a
building for the Vishnitz Seminary is in process. Up until
now all 574 girls have been forced to study in rented rooms.
A new wing is also being built at the Pnei Menachem Talmud
Torah.
Mayor Rabbi Yissochor Frankenthal expressed his pleasure at
the extensive building of classrooms taking place at various
city locations, carried out with the cooperation of Rabbi
Yissochor Dov Beigel and Mr. Yaakov Soler, City Council
members and heads of the Education Department as well as
Rabbi Yonoson Safra, the Education Department director.
At the Mayor's initiative, the City Council approved more
than NIS 10 million to prepare for the current school year.
The preparations included renovations outside and inside,
fixing safety hazards, equipping 34 educational institutions,
additional classrooms, air-conditioning in special education
classes, replacing damaged playground equipment and
infrastructure development in the new day-care center on
HaRav Brodt Street.
Ashdod: 30 Percent Chareidim
Around 30 percent of the pupils enrolled in the city's
education system are in chareidi education. The chareidi
institutions have some 16,000 pupils, with approximately
35,000 in all the other streams.
Over 11,000 pupils consisting of around 400 classes attend
dozens of talmudei Torah and Bais Yaakov schools.
About 5,000 children are enrolled in some 200 preschool
classes. Ashdod also has a Shuvu school with an enrollment of
approximately 350 pupils. Hundreds of girls study in the
three seminaries in the city and around 2,000 bochurim
learn in over ten yeshivos.
The Municipality, together with the principals of the
institutions, made thorough preparations for the new school
year, solving many problems that were caused by lack of
sufficient classrooms.
Modi'in Illit: 16,000 Pupils
Around 16,000 pupils, 2,000 more than last year, are being
educated in 600 classes in Modi'in Illit. Around 450 of the
classes are held in permanent buildings.
The 2,000 new pupils form another hundred classes in the
city's huge educational system. Around 5,500 children attend
some 200 preschool classes. Modi'in Illit boasts 31
talmudei Torah, eight Bais Yaakov elementary schools,
nine yeshivos ketanos and eight yeshivos
gedolos. The local council assisted in the establishment
of three new yeshivos gedolos and in finding solutions
so that learning could take place in all the yeshivos. A
total of 1,000 girls are enrolled in the two high schools and
the seminary. All the girls' schools, with one exception, are
housed in permanent buildings.
Two talmudei Torah, Derech Emes in Kiryat Sefer and
Pri HaTorah in Achuzas Brachfeld, moved into permanent
premises at the beginning of the school year. Dozens of
school buildings have been constructed in recent years with
funding from the Education Ministry and Mifal Hapayis.
During the summer vacation improvements were carried out in
hundreds of classrooms, under the direction of Rabbi Yaakov
Guterman, head of the local council, and Rabbi Nachman
Benshaya, the educational representative. Security devices
were improved, and solutions were sought for each educational
institution, including 100 new classes which opened as part
of the rapidly expanding educational system.
An innovation this year is the provision of hot-lunches to
all the elementary school pupils, together with those from
Beitar Illit, within the framework of the government program.
The program is part of the plan to institute the Long School
Day Law in both cities in the future.
However, there has recently been a hue and cry in the Knesset
Education Committee, after it came to light that the
Education Minister had no intention of approving the long
school day in Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit. This came after
a letter by the Treasury, signed by Raviv Sobel, the Treasury
representative, assuring that he had already approved the
step. The Education Minister opposed the idea and the vote
was postponed. Rabbi Guterman had received the letter and
even appeared before the committee, protesting the fact that
the two cities had not been included in the program.
"In a conversation I had with Tamir, the Education Minister,
later on, she tried to find a way out of the conflict and
promised to find a creative solution which would include
these cities in the long school day framework this year.
Meanwhile she approved the hot-lunch program as an
independent stage. This agreement resulted eventually in
approval for the long school day program. We are now waiting
for the hot-lunch program to be implemented in the two
chareidi cities as has been approved by the Treasury," said
Rabbi Guterman.
Beitar Illit: 6,000 preschoolers
The new school year began with a surge of building to provide
classrooms for the various educational institutions. There
has been an increase of 1,600 pupils over last year, making a
total of 14,600 pupils in around 500 permanent classrooms.
Around 1,760 children attend nursery school for the first
time, while there are about 1,400 first-graders. Altogether
some 6,000 children are enrolled in 130 preschool classes,
forming about one half of the municipal education system.
The city's Education Department reported that more than 400
new classrooms have been built in the last four and a half
years, with the building of another 60 already underway. This
year only four preschool classes are situated in rented
apartments, compared to 126 in purpose-built classrooms.
The new Machon Beis Yaakov Lemoros Beitar Illit teachers'
seminary which was founded with the blessings and
encouragement of Maran HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv shlita,
has an enrollment of nearly one hundred girls in three
classes. The rapid growth of the city, now with a population
of 35,000, together with the rise in the number of local
girls graduating the Bais Yaakov elementary schools created a
need for such a seminary. Until this year the girls had been
forced to travel to seminaries in Jerusalem.
The Director of the Education Department Rabbi Yisroel Tick,
the Municipal Secretary Rabbi Betzalel Yaakobson together
with senior municipal staff, department workers and City
Council member with responsibility for education Rabbi Yaakov
Weingarten, under the direction of Mayor Rabbi Yitzchok
Pindrus worked throughout the summer on preparations for the
new school year. Extra maintenance workers were employed to
ensure a trouble-free start to the year.
The Education Department expects hundreds more pupils to
enroll in the city's preschools, schools and talmudei
Torah throughout the school year. This is due to the
expected arrival of the new residents of 600 new apartments
within the next few months.
This year sees an innovation in Beitar Illit's education
system. Mayor Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus, who also serves as head
of the Forum of Chareidi and Religious Municipal Authorities
in Israel, reached a final agreement with Education Minister
Yuli Tamir that the Prime Minister's office and the Education
Ministry will fund the hot-lunch program in Beitar Illit and
Modi'in Illit together with the Sacta-Rashi Foundation. In
this way these children will be provided with a hot,
nutritious lunch as are other eligible children in the
Israeli education system. This is an important achievement in
the wake of a prolonged battle which included appeals to the
High Court.
Beit Shemesh: The Majority in Chareidi
Education
In Beit Shemesh the problems in many educational institutions
were solved, with city council member Rabbi Moshe Montag who
is in charge of chareidi education and also school principals
and municipal workers, working right up until the beginning
of the school year. The vast majority of pupils in the
chareidi system study in purpose-built classrooms with a
minority in temporary structures and trailers.
The city's education system registered an increase of around
2,000 new pupils, most of which are in the chareidi stream,
making a total of 23,800. Approximately 13,000 of them, 54.6
percent of the total number, are in the chareidi stream as
against 10,800, or 45.4 percent, in the government streams.
This figure does not include some 2,000 pupils in the
mosdos of the Old Yishuv, which do not feature in the
municipal statistics.
The chareidi pupils study in some 30 educational institutions
which include around 400 classes, the majority, as mentioned,
in standard buildings and a few in caravans. Dozens of
preschool classrooms are located throughout the city. In
addition some 300 city residents study in yeshivos
ketanos with a similar number of girls in the local
seminaries.
Elad: 20 percent Growth
Around 9,300 pupils are in Elad; 4,700 children in 190 pre-
school classes and 4,600 pupils in the 178 talmudei
Torah and girls' schools' classes.
This year an additional 40 preschool classrooms and 45 school
and talmud Torah classrooms were finished, an increase
of more than 20 percent on last year. The Education Ministry
delivered some 85 trailers from their general reserves of
100. The construction of two schools continues with funding
by Mifal Hapayis, with the pupils expected to occupy them
this year.
There are 1,220 first-graders. The largest school in the town
is the Bais Yaakov, with 820 pupils, while the Kehillos
Yaakov Talmud Torah has 470. The Eitz Hada'as and Agudas
Yisroel's preschool networks each have an enrollment of 500,
and there are dozens of other educational institutions
throughout the city. There are also two yeshivos in Elad;
Knesses Yisroel with 220 bochurim and Chevron
yeshiva ketanoh with 100.
Rabbi Tzvi Herbst, deputy head of the city council and city
council member with responsibility for education worked,
together with Rabbi Avigdor Katzburg and members of the
education department, to prepare for the new school year. The
local council invested large sums of money in renovating
existing institutions, and providing additional
classrooms.
Petach Tikva: Increasing Chareidi
Education
In Petach Tikva there are 41,000 pupils in the education
system, 9,800 of which — close to 25 percent —
are in the chareidi system.
1,250 pupils attend Chinuch Atzmai elementary schools; 2,310
are in talmudei Torah and chareidi schools; 2,750 are
in preschool; another 780 pupils in the Shuvu preschools and
high school; 310 pupils in the Nesivos Moshe School; 1,250
pupils in the yeshivos ketanos and 1,150 girls in the
high school and seminary. In total the municipal chareidi
education network comprises 9,800 pupils, ken yirbu.
The 3,000 children enrolled in the preschools, are around 40
percent of the total preschool enrollment in the city.
Rabbi Menachem Shwartz, head of the Department for Chareidi
Education and Jewish Culture in the municipality, noted that
the religious education system now is 13 percent of the
education system in the city. Together with the chareidi
education they number 48 percent of Petach Tikva's children.
Around 3,000 of the children in chareidi education are in
kiruv institutions, a direct consequence of the Torah
educational activities which take place in the city, under
the auspices of the Municipal Department for Chareidi
Education and Jewish Culture which has been active for the
last sixteen years. Then there were 2,500 pupils in chareidi
education which has risen to 9,800 today, ken
yirbu.
Rechasim: Chareidi Education a Clear
Majority
Within the Rechasim Local Council in the north of the country
there are approximately 2,600 pupils in many institutions.
There are 800 children in 30 preschools. Another 800 girls
attend the three girls' elementary schools; Bais Yaakov, Ohel
Soroh and Bas Melech. Around 1,000 boys attend the four
talmudei Torah; Tashbar Horav, Darchei Torah, Toras
Chaim and Yakirei Rechasim. There is one government-religious
school, with just 80 children.
Rechasim has four yeshivos ketanos: Knesses
Chizkiyohu, Yeshivas Rechasim, Ma'oz Yehudi and Oholei Shmuel
as well as three yeshivos gedolos: Knesses Chizkiyohu,
Be'er Yitzchok and Ma'oz Chaim. Hundreds of girls study at
the girls' high-school and the Shiras Miriam Seminary, a
branch of the Ofakim Seminary, at the Midrashia for girls and
women, and other places.
At the Ohr Chodosh Educational Center hundreds of girls from
across the country study and live in the dormitories, while
being strengthened in Torah and yiras Shomayim. The
Tzohar LeTohar special-education facility provides for pupils
from preschool and includes separate hostels for teenage boys
and girls where they learn coping skills and are able to be
integrated into the wider community, and find employment.
The Head of the Local Council, Rabbi Yitzchok Reich explained
that some of the preschools and schools are situated in older
buildings and trailers in difficult conditions. A number of
modern schools and preschools have been built recently such
as the Tashbar Horav Talmud Torah which has 24 spacious, new
classrooms. The Darchei Torah Talmud Torah also has a
beautiful building with a large yard.
Haifa: Renovations at the Last Minute
Around 2,300 pupils are registered in ten educational
institutions for boys and girls in Haifa, in more than 100
classes. There has been a rise of some ten percent in the
number of chareidi pupils in the city. In the preschools
there are some 800 children, with an impressive growth in
numbers.
The majority of Haifa's classrooms in chareidi educational
institutions are in well-maintained buildings, although some
institutions still suffer from overcrowding. Some have been
promised better buildings by the municipality, but plans have
not moved forward at the Education Ministry.
The Municipality was only able to organize renovations at the
very last minute, just before the start of the new school
year, as throughout the municipal education framework. The
recent war prevented the municipal workers from carrying out
the necessary renovations. However efforts were made to
finish the maximum possible number of improvements and
repairs. Outstanding repairs will be carried out during the
yom tov vacations.
Haifa has a number of yeshivos gedolos and yeshivos
ketanos with a total of over 800 bochurim learning
there.
Kiryat Yearim: 750 Yeshiva Bochurim
The community of Kiryat Yearim (Telshe Stone) has close to
1,600 pupils in preschool, talmudei Torah, the Beis
Yaakov school and yeshivos ketanos and
gedolos.
Around 250 children are in nine preschool classes. 800 pupils
attend the two talmudei Torah and Bais Yaakov school
in 34 classes, and around 220 girls travel to study at
seminaries in Jerusalem. Apart from private nurseries there
are 65 children in day-care in private homes. Council Head
Rabbi Avrohom Rosenthal hopes that a beautiful day-care
center will be completed by next year.
There are also two yeshivos ketanos in Telshe Stone
with an enrollment of around 200; Meor Eliyahu and Belz. Four
yeshivos gedolos have around 550 bochurim.
Pupils of all ages benefit from extracurricular activities in
the afternoon and evening. There is a play room for toddlers,
a masmidim learning program for boys of all grades
from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m., various activities and clubs for
the girls, a tape library where the children can also sit and
listen to the cassettes, a game room and many other social
activities.
Large sums of money were invested in renovating educational
institutions. The number of preschool classrooms rose.
Emanuel: New Seminary
In the Samarian city of Emanuel there are some 1,500 pupils
in the education system. Around 350 of them are in twelve
preschool classes. There is also a central day-care facility
serving 100 babies and toddlers as well as twelve day-cares
in private homes throughout the city.
Other children study in three talmudei Torah and two
girls' elementary schools. Two of the talmudei Torah
are still situated in caravans and Council Head Rabbi
Yeshayohu Ehrenreich is still working to build them
classrooms.
This year saw the opening of Year Five and Six in the girls'
seminary, so high school girls will not have to travel. A
child development center, Derech Maftei'ach, will open up as
a branch of the Tel Hashomer Hospital.
Preparations are also underway for the opening of a new
yeshiva ketanoh in the near future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A strike at the beginning of the school year in hundreds of
Jerusalem preschools due to unceasing harassment by legal
bodies in the Municipality, was narrowly averted. Those who
are familiar with the details know well who is responsible
for the aggravation and what motives he has. However there is
little hope for a change as long as he remains in his
position in the Municipality, supported by the courts.
Recently a further case of discrimination against children in
chareidi education has come to light, and more specifically
against disabled children in the chareidi system. Israeli law
determines that a physically- disadvantaged child, who in
most cases needs a wheelchair, should be integrated into the
regular school system. This is known as equal opportunities
in education. There are various forums and organizations
which deal with this issue and, in the majority of cases, are
able to integrate the pupils in regular educational
institutions. This is dependent on the existence of suitable
conditions which enable the pupil to reach the classroom, and
other vital services needed by the disabled child, including
bathrooms which have been suitably adapted. Legally this is
known as "accessibility for the disabled."
People turned to the Hebrew Yated Ne'eman concerning
disabled children, both boys and girls, who had expected to
attend chareidi educational institutions in Jerusalem. The
school administration announced that they were unable to make
the necessary improvements for accessibility for the
disabled. It is not always feasible for the administration to
change the location of classes or to provide bathrooms for
the disabled, at the expense of other priorities. The
classrooms are sometimes located on upper floors, meaning
that with the lack of an elevator or special stair-lift, the
disabled child is forced to stay at home and not receive an
education.
Educational institutions which approached the Municipality
with requests to carry out improvements to provide
accessibility for the disabled were flabbergasted to be told
that the Municipality would not finance the work which would
allow chareidi children to study in a regular school. The
reason given is that the city's legal advisor has determined
that the Municipality is not obligated to fund accessibility
for the disabled in non-municipal institutions.
It has been subtly hinted that this behavior is considered
exceptionally strange. The highest legal bodies in the
municipality, who try to constantly harass the chareidi
educational system, have chosen unfortunate disabled children
who want to integrate with their peers in school, to fight
with. Isn't it the state itself which decided, through the
law to finance disabled accessibility to children in the
various educational streams, that the local authorities would
pay for the work needed in the educational institutions? The
improvements done in non-municipal institutions are carried
out for the child's sake, just as they are elsewhere.
Municipal spokesman Gidi Shmerling responded, "The
Municipality, in cooperation with the Bituach Leumi, provides
for disabled accessibility in all Municipal institutions.
However, due to the opinion of the Legal Department, the
Municipality is incapable of carrying out similar work in non-
municipal institutions. Those involved with education in the
Municipality are working together with the Legal Department
to formulate a solution which will allow such improvements in
those institutions too."
Unfortunately, until the problem is resolved and the legal
inflexibility will end, the disabled children will continue
to suffer.
The preschool network for avreichim, Eitz Hada'as, has
fulfilled its aims for the current school year of laying an
educational infrastructure and preparing educational centers
in the old Jerusalem neighborhoods which are becoming more
chareidi.
It is no secret that many city neighborhoods are gradually
changing and large numbers of avreichim are making
their homes there. Therefore the educational Eitz Hada'as
network decided to make it a priority to build educational
centers for the community that operate according to the
derech of our gedolim.
Significant expansion has taken place in Kiryat Yovel. The
network has opened several nursery schools with a
registration of thirty toddlers, kein yirbu. In Ramot
Bet a center for preschoolers was set up for dozens of
children in addition to the boys' preschool which has been in
operation since last year. In nearby Ramot Alef, educational
and community centers are open for the second year running
and, apart from boys' and girls' preschools, an after school-
child-care facility has opened to working mothers.
In Ramat Eshkol there are seven preschools with around 200
children, kein yirbu. Another fast-growing
neighborhood is on the Sharei Tzedek hillside, where a
preschool is active and helping its consolidation as a unique
frum neighborhood. The Rochashei Leiv Project for
special education children has been expanded this year after
the achievement, with incredible siyata deShmaya, that
90 percent of their pupils were able to return to the regular
education system, an accomplishment which aroused excitement
among professionals in the field.
A particular success is the neighborhood of Neveh Yaakov in
north Jerusalem which has a flourishing Torah community and
where Eitz Hada'as has around a hundred pupils of various
ages, kein yirbu. Both here and in Ramot Alef anti-
religious groups attempted to interfere with the success of
Torah growth. However, with much siyata deShmaya and
cooperation on the part of neighborhood avreichim
their endeavors failed.
The director of the Eitz Hada'as network, Rabbi Avrohom
Maklev, expressed his delight at this growth. "This is our
hakoras hatov to the gedolim who relied on us
to found a national educational organization based on the
chinuch which we observed and learned from our
rabbonim," said Rabbi Maklev.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| All material
on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||