Jerusalem seculars accuse Mayor of selling out to Haredim

Secular residents of the Jerusalem neighborhood Kiryat Yovel harshly criticized Mayor Nir Barkat yesterday for "selling them out" in allowing ultra-Orthodox groups to open a synagogue in an abandoned building there. They said Barkat was trying to ingratiate himself with his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.

The news comes after something of a victory on Monday for the secular residents, who have been fighting for several years against the so-called Haredization of the area. They said the Hebrew University of Jerusalem had canceled a tender on the sale of two large buildings in the neighborhood.

They said the decision was motivated by fears that the buildings would go to an ultra-Orthodox buyer, bolstering the Haredi presence in the area.

But the same day, the secular residents lost a key battle over the character of their community, this time over the conversion of an abandoned kiosk into an ultra-Orthodox synagogue.

Haredi residents acquired the abandoned building on Olswanger Street several months ago; they were soon using it as a synagogue, without having been granted the necessary permits.

At first, the municipality asked the synagogue operators to stop using the building as a house of worship, a motion that had the support of the neighborhood's secular working committee. But a month and a half ago, Barkat ordered the request retracted and granted temporary permission for the local commission on planning and construction to continue using the structure as a synagogue.

City council representatives from Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu joined ultra-Orthodox members in backing the move.

"The mayor betrayed us," said Yuval Avraham, a leader of the secular community. "The only thing he was supposed to provide after the election was maintaining the character of the neighborhood, and he didn't do that."

Avraham said the mayor acceded to the wishes of the ultra-Orthodox in exchange for their tacit acquiescence in opening a parking garage on the Sabbath.

Secular representatives said that allowing the operation of a synagogue could lead to permits to open Haredi educational institutions, encouraging more ultra-Orthodox families to move in. Members of the ultra-Orthodox community agree that the neighborhood's "Haredization" is virtually inevitable, given the city's lack of housing.

"These are much broader processes that must be handled by lawmakers, but instead they are laying these problems at the doors of young people who all in all are looking for a place to pray," said attorney Elkana Holzer, who represents the neighborhood's Haredi residents.

According to a spokesman for Barkat, "The mayor is convinced that the members of every population must be cared for.

"The mayor's office must maintain the existing character of neighborhoods and reduce unnecessary conflicts," he said.

"Since entering office, the mayor has annulled a number of decisions that didn't adhere to that principle. Still, it must be remembered that Jerusalem's neighborhoods are not homogeneous and that the needs of minority groups must be considered in every area."