The allocation was not at the expense of another Haredi school. The specific plot was under agreement between the mayor and the Haredi representatives for a division with half being allocated for a Haredi school, and the other half for a secular school. The allocation to Chochmei Lev was going to be in the secular half, yet the Haredi reps torpedoed it anyway. Their problem is that they do not want such schools, yeshiva high schools, in Haredi neighborhoods.
source: Kikar, Kikar and Bechadrei
1. I guess they prefer a secular school next door than a Haredi school that is a bit different than the mainstream
2. I don't know why the secular representatives in Jerusalem were ok with the allocation, being that it was coming at their expense
3. Ramat Eshkol, where this plot is located, is a mixed neighborhood. It is not like Ramat Shlomo, Geula, Ezras Torah, Mattesdorf and the like
4. I have no more sympathy for when the Haredi reps fight about being kept out of secular neighborhoods, like Kiryat Hayovel and others, and their attempts to build institutions discriminated against. If they feel fine doing it to others, it is legitimate to do it to them as well.
5. Please remember this come election time. When the Haredi representatives come knocking and looking for your vote, remember that they are not interested in you (if this si the type of school you would want your son to go to). They are just interested in your vote. When they say that the "working haredim" are part and parcel of the Haredi community and they need institutions designed and developed for their needs, know it is just lip service. When it comes down to actually doing anything, they will oppose your institutions.
6. To a certain extent the "working haredim", "blue shirt haredim", modern haredim", or whatever they want to be called, suffer from a form of battered wife syndrome. No matter how much "abuse" they take from the hands of the mainstream Haredi leaders and askanim, they are too scared to break out of their grip. They circle the wagons and the roosters come back home to nest every time the scare tactics are used.
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