CAN WE PLEASE STOP THIS RIDICULOUS ARGUING ABOUT THE SAFOT / MISHKENOT SAGA! Many of you (at least according to my facebook feeds) are missing the point. IMHO – this is not about the school building on Nachal Sorek, it is far bigger than that, and if we dont wake up, things may get worse. Just over a few weeks ago we were finally witnessing some Achdut (unity) after the horrible election campaign of a few months ago, where both sides tarnished themselves with the vitriol and lies being spread. How SAD. It was even SADDER to see people on both sides believing certain propaganda. It is SADDER still to see people still circulating lies in forums as recently as the last few hours. And it is even more SADDER, to see these lies, motzi shem ra and distortions coming from people (on both sides) who portray themselves as observant / frum / dati / charedi / chardal etc (insert as you wish), be it in facebook forums, Times of Israel blogs (where certain careless inaccurate writing goes to far wider audiences - is simply shameful as well as sinful on so many levels), articles in local rags (sic newspapers and magazines) or any other means. I shant mention names – as not are there too many on each side, but I also do not want to get into public vilifying of people. However, for those still reading this post, IF you think that I may be referring to YOU as an individual, then we can probably agree on one thing. So please stop writing what you do, and stop fanning the flames of hatred and Sinat Chinam. Perhaps the SADDEST thing is, that it takes sirens to wail in Bet Shemesh to unify people. Just a few weeks back, on a Friday before my 3rd Shabbat of a 5 and a half week stint in the vicinity of Gaza, our unit received food packages from the women residents of Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph and Bet – individually wrapped homemade cakes and rogelach for Shabbat. The majority of people I serve with are not religious, but knowing that this came from where I live, as if it was my doing – something for which I can take no credit for – they were thanking me for such a wonderful warm gesture. How wonderful that for once, Bet Shemesh was being spoken about amongst my fellow soldiers from all over the country in a positive light. Fast forward to this week, and how quickly we have regressed. Still with me? Good. I know this is long….. To me there have been a number of crimes that have taken place, and I blame ALL of the following (in no specific order): • The parents and teachers of the students at BOTH schools • The current mayor and his fellow coalition partners • Those responsible for the education portfolios and planning in the Iriya • The politicians in the opposition • Misrad Hachinuch • All of us on facebook who have at some stage further inflamed things with our own politically charged comments. WHY do I blame all the above? Children are children. Many of them are innocent. But unfortunately, we expose many more of them to baseless hatred, based on our own skewed ways of expressing and arguing our political views. By doing so, we create another generation of idiots like ourselves. Children should remain what they are….CHILDREN. They should NOT be used as political tools. If my children were students at either Safot or Mishkenot, I would have had them stay at home rather than have them sit outside in the heat, bearing witness to the childlike behaviour both sides were portraying, just to make certain points. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE for the teachers to act like this. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE for parents (on both sides) to allow their children to become political pawns. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE for those elected for a 2nd term to allow such scenarios to arise, when it doesnt take a rocket scientist to see how many children there are and what plans need to be implemented well in advance of the school year. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE for the opposition to respond / act in such an aggressive way. HOW IRRESPONSIBLE for Misrad Hachinuch to allow a municipality to allow so many children to still be studying in make shift classrooms, which are not only not safe on so many levels (not just lack of secured rooms), but also not conducive to educating the next generation of professors, talmidei chachamim, business gurus and teachers et al. With the courts current decision, despite what some may feel, there are NO WINNERS here. We are all LOSERS. To some degree, those taking side with Safot are correct, and those taking side with Mishkenot are likewise correct on other points too. However right one may or may not be, and irrespective of whatever legal or halachic backing each side may or may not have to argue their case, wrongs have been committed. The end results here never justify the means. There are two Psukim that I believe reflect that neither side has acted in a responsible or proper way. 1. ועשית הישר והטוב בעיני ה למען ייטב לך ובאת וירשת את הארץ הטובה אשר נשבע ה לאבתיך. And you shall do that which is right and good in the sight of the L-rd , that it may be well with you, and that you may go and possess the good land which the L-rd swore unto your fathers. 2. דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל, קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה אלקיכם. Speak unto ALL the congregation of Israel, and say unto them, You should be holy, for I the L-rd your G-d am holy. The Pasuk from Parashat Kedoshim instructs all of us to be holy, with no exception. The very well known source in Ramban states not to be a NAVAL BIRSHUT HATORAH, not to be a glutton or scoundrel within the parameters of the Torah. It may be permissible to eat meat, but do not eat the meat in a gluttonous manner. Irrespective of who is right or on what technical point, both sides and many of their followers (and those still reading this post) have been gluttons and scoundrels. But the real story is not about Safot and Mishkenot, it is about a very poor leadership in Bet Shemesh, and the very sorry state of many schoolchildren in different educational and hashkafic tracks being without the appropriate buildings and facilities to house them. I am neither going to debate the much good that the incumbent has done, nor the bad. The mayor may not have been directly involved in the scuffles that took place, however, as the number one citizen in the Bet Shemesh area for a second term, the responsibility does lie with him. Here, I believe he has failed everyone, not just those who opposed him, but those who voted for him. It is not a personal dig at him as Moshe Abutbul, rather a dig at his abilities to sit in the hot seat, and lead the city to the wonderful potential it could reach. I am not debating democracy here, certain parties got votes, others did not, however, I believe his voters should be asking his party to either help him lead, or appoint someone else from within his partys ranks who can lead. With so many school children from all walks of life and religious persuasions in substandard schooling facilities, the argument should not be about the division or changing of status of a specific school building in Nachal Sorek, rather how we as citizens demand that ALL children (irrespective of what hashkafa their parents hold) have the appropriate schools built to host and educate all of them. A building should not just be about the numbers and classrooms, but also other facilities such as gymnasiums and playgrounds in each school, to allow extra-curricular activities to take place, and enable the techno-generation to get some fresh air, and learn other skills and activities in addition to those that can only take place in an over-crowded classroom. How wonderful would it have been, that instead of trying to argue who is right and who is wrong, that the parents and teachers of Safot, Mishkenot and all other schools continued the unity of the summer, and would have come together to demand buildings for all school children in Bet Shemesh, irrespective of where their allegiances may lie. Whilst this may not happen this school year, there is still time to protest as one unified group to the Iriya, Mayor as well as Misrad Hachinuch, to make sure that funds are made available, and the wheels are set in motion well in advance to finally plan things accordingly, as I believe that August 2015 will be followed a month called September, which if I am not mistaken, will be the start of a school year with even more children of school age in the Bet Shemesh area. Thank you for reading!
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 15:54:50 +0000
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