At the end of negotiations which continued for a number of
days, the representatives of the synagogue on Zerach Barnett
Street in Har Nof and the representatives of the Israel Land
Administration reached an agreement regarding the erecting
of a synagogue not far from the site of the demolished
one.
As a result of an agreement reached between the sides, and
mediated by the Religious Affairs Minister Asher Ochana, a
similar structure will be erected near the site of the
previous synagogue. It will remain intact until a permanent
arrangement is made. At the same time, progress on building
a permanent synagogue for the residents of the area is
making headway.
On Shabbos kodesh parshas Bolok thousands of Har Nof
residents participated in a massive Musaf service on
Zerach Barnett Street to protest the scandalous removal of
its shul.
On 13 Tammuz, Israel Land Authority workers stormed a prefab
building (caravan) that had been placed on Zerach Barnett
Street to serve as a shul for the street's hundreds
of residents. They brutally demolished the shul that
had been placed opposite the home of Authority Director,
Shlomo Ben Eliyahu, following a brief legal struggle. The
Police used excessive violence against local residents
protesting the removal of the shul.
Following this incident, the Har Nof rabbonim requested that
neighborhood residents participate in a massive Musaf
service on Shabbos parshas Bolok on the site of the
former shul.
This kiddush Hashem was attended by numerous
residents seeking to protest the brutal removal of the
shul, as well as to show solidarity with shul
members who lost their place of tefilloh.
Scores of minyonim were held on the site. People from
all the neighborhood shuls streamed to Zerach Barnett
Street to daven in their individual nuscho'os.
By their very presence, they demonstrated their strong
objections to the loss of the shul.
