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NEWS
Petition Filed Against Rosh Ha'ayin Mayor and Officials Over
Canceled Mikveh
By L.S. Wasserman
A major petition was filed against senior officials at the Rosh
Ha'ayin Municipality to allocate land for a mikveh, the latest move in
a painful, prolonged public debate following a scandalous decision by
the municipality to cancel plans for the construction of a mikveh in
the new Givat Hasela'im neighborhood.
Following requests, petitions, protest gatherings that drew hundreds,
including Chief Rabbi Azariya Bassis, a lawsuit was filed to compel
the city to meet its pledge to allocate space for a mikveh. By the
time the municipality's Allocations Committee gave notice that the
land allocation was being retracted, a sponsor from outside of Israel
had been found to fund the project and $100,000 had already been spent
on the building plans.
Atty. Shlomo Mamaliya, representing the Ohel Sara and Be'er Miriam
Association, asked Mayor Moshe Sinai to honor the commitment to build
the mikveh for the neighborhood, which numbers 750 households and
borders other new neighborhoods with another 1,300 households that
also lack a mikveh. Mamaliya warned the Mayor that if the municipality
did not meet its commitment, a lawsuit would be filed against it and
its top officials.
The municipality defended its decision by claiming the neighborhood is
secular.
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