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9 Adar 5769 - March 5, 2009 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Netanya Residents Fuming Over Plans to Allocate Land for Reform Synagogues

By L.S. Wasserman

Chareidi and traditional residents of Netanya protested strongly a municipality plan to approve land allocations for a Reform synagogue despite the acute shortage of facilities for botei knesses in the city. As a result, the city backed down on its plans to approve the Reform request.

In most of the new neighborhoods built in Netanya in recent years residents have been left without botei knesses. In one new neighborhood, Galei Yam (Neveh Oz), there are no botei knesses in the entire area. After two high-rise buildings were constructed in the neighborhood recently, a large hall inside was donated for use as a beis knesses, but local Reform Movement activists actually filed a legal petition, preventing it from opening. During the recent election campaign period, cornerstone-laying ceremonies were held for several new botei knesses, but construction cannot get underway because of Reform- sponsored petitions that resulted in temporary restraining orders.

The municipality must now respond to the petition against it. In the meantime it had scheduled a new proposal to allocate land for Reform facilities. The proposal stirred heavy controversy in the city, even within the general population in view of the Reform behavior.

Rabbonim and public figures note that the chareidi and religious councilmen strongly opposed the proposal and threatened to join the opposition. Many residents said they would rather pray outside in the street than see the city council approve construction of Reform synagogues.

 

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