Legal rights organization Betzedek filed a High Court
petition claiming that the City of Haifa is not allocating
facilities for Chinuch Atzmai school Netivot Moshe in Kiryat
Chaim based on nonmaterial considerations.
The affair began when, based on a demand by Betzedek, the
municipality went through the school building allocations
procedure for Netivot Moshe, but decided to refuse the
school's request. Betzedek and Netivot Moshe responded by
filing an administrative petition.
A large public school called Netivot stands empty in the
Kiryat Chaim neighborhood, after it was closed due to low
enrollment. Netivot Moshe is located nearby in a rented
building. The building is too small for the school, so the
administration has to rent nearby apartments for use as
office space.
Netivot Moshe submitted a request for a building, but the
municipality refused, claiming that the school fails to meet
criteria set by the municipality. The Netivot Moshe
administration contacted Betzedek Director Atty. Rabbi
Mordechai Green to assist with the petition. Betzedek argued
that the building has been deserted for over five years and
is a magnet for unsavory characters who damage the building
and harm the entire neighborhood, while nearby at Netivot
Moshe 300 students study in cramped conditions.
The petitioners claimed after Netivot Moshe submitted the
request for a building, the City of Haifa deliberately
changed the allocations criteria, tightening them in a way
that would lessen the school's chances of receiving a
building allocation.
They also claimed that no other request for this building has
been submitted and that the municipality is trying to reduce
enrollment at Netivot Moshe.
The petition also rejects the municipality's claim that it
plans to increase the size of the neighborhood, at which time
it would again need the school building. The petitioners
countered that it would be at least five years before the
neighborhood is expanded, which is the duration of the
current allocation request.
