Israel – Jerusalem Lone Soldier Center Blocked By Haredi Parties

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    File: Israeli soldiers at a rest stop southern Israel, EPA/JIM HOLLANDERJerusalem – A discounted Jerusalem housing center for Lone Soldiers, or soldiers who serve in the IDF from abroad without family in the country, was shelved last week due to protestations among haredi councilmen over funding for the facility being allocated to a secular organization.

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    According to Jared White, director of counseling and education for the Lone Soldier Center, the facility, located in Kiryat Yoevel, was intended to provide affordable housing to some of the nation’s 6,000 Lone Soldiers who cannot afford prohibitive residential costs in between training.

    “We came to the municipality a year ago, and one of our biggest problems is finding Lone Soldiers a place to live, which the army helps with, but is still not adequate, even though it gives all it can,” said White of the IDF’s NIS 1,046 monthly stipend.

    During the meeting, White said the municipality suggested housing the soldiers in Beit Giora – a five-story former absorption center since turned into a youth housing center with over 150 beds – into a discounted housing destination for the soldiers.

    Since then, White said eight Lone Soldiers have moved into the facility, with others planning on relocating there, although city funding for their rent has not been approved.

    However, on Thursday, when the city’s finance committee mulled providing NIS 170,000 to the Yovlim neighborhood administration, which manages the facility, ultra-Orthodox council members voted to scrap the project due to the organization’s secularity.

    “The project is operated by the municipality’s Youth Authority and Yovlim, and the haredi council members think both groups are anti-haredi, which of course, is not true,” a municipal official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, explained Monday.

    “I think this is a misunderstanding that can be resolved.”

    In response to the controversy surrounding haredi opposition to funding he center, United Torah Judaism Councilman Yitzhak Pindrus told Israel media that the decision is not intended to punish Lone Soldiers, but rather the disparity in funding among secular and ultra-Orthodox groups.

    “We are not against lone soldiers; we are against the Yovlim administration, which ignores the 25 percent of [Kiryat Yoevel] residents who are not entitled to receive money from the administration,” said Pindrus.

    In a statement, former ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, who is running with Moshe Kahlon’s Koolanu party in the March 17 election, described the decision to cancel the funding as “shameful” and “anti-Zionist.”

    “As someone who came to Israel as a lone soldier and enlisted to be a paratrooper, I fully understand the difficulties experienced by young men and women after making the difficult decision to leave everything and come to Israel to serve the state alone, without family or a home,” said Oren.

    “Like all Israelis in general, and as a former Lone Soldier in particular, I feel great shame at the immoral step taken by this religious faction.”

    Adding that the matter transcends politics, Oren said he will call an emergency meeting with Barkat to resolve the impasse.

    The city council will hold a follow-up meeting Tuesday night to reintroduce the funding initiative, which Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has repeatedly said he will pass.

    Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post


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    7 Comments
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    yosher
    yosher
    9 years ago

    Shame on us! Another Chillul Ha-Shem. We don’t serve, or at least few of us, and we challenge support funding for those who do serve.

    9 years ago

    So state gives a whole $265 per month to these Lone Soldiers

    There is disparity in funding, between factions

    And the disposition of the community will be affected bringing in non-religious soldiers on leave, h’mayvin yavin.

    This now becomes an anti-Frum campaign

    OscarMadison
    OscarMadison
    9 years ago

    Nobody needs to establish a new anti-frum talking point. The frum are their own worst enemy.

    savtat
    savtat
    9 years ago

    Need to find ways to help each other. These young people literally put their lives on the line for the benefit of all the citizens. Surely, they should be praised and accommodated.

    charliehall
    charliehall
    9 years ago

    One more example of charedi ingratitude to the people who are protecting them from the Arab rashaim. These ingrates should all move to Gaza City.

    mordche
    mordche
    9 years ago

    Yes that should not have any money who knows could be that’s the way hashem is helping tham out of there nisoyen by making it hard for them to join the treifa army hopefully like this they just wont join the army anymore