A discriminatory petition submitted to the courts to prevent the allocation of land to the chareidi kehilla in the Neve Shaanan neighborhood in Haifa was dismissed, since even the judge made it clear that it had no legitimate grounds. This brought to an end the provocative chapter stirred up by a handful of citizens who begrudged the growth of chareidi elements in their neighborhood.
In question was a lot which the Amudei Olam organization had been granted, after the representative in the municipality, Rabbi Michael Alper, requested a budget for constructing a new, tall and impressive building. A handful of disgruntled residents, decided to oppose the move and foment active dissension in the community, a move which proved unsuccessful.
The judge of the local district court in Haifa, Ron Sokol, dismissed the petition presented by a group calling itself Shachar Bamesilla, to evoke the approved land grant on Rechov Mendele.
It was dismissed because of the long interim since its presentation, partly because there was no viable reason to rescind the municipal grant, but also because the extension of the time required for developing the land did not justify the annulment. The judge said that erecting a communal center which will serve the residents of Neve Shaanan, even if it does have a religious character, does not impair the rights of the other citizens who happen not to be chareidi.
