Hiddush in the legal trenches

This week we filed a Freedom of Information petition against the Municipality of Netanya, as part of our efforts to assist groups and individuals whose rights are being infringed upon in connection with the clash of religion and state on the national and local spheres. This time our petition followed our efforts to help residents of four condominiums in Netanya of residents who have been trying unsuccessfully to get the municipality to stop the public nuisance caused by a Haredi group that was given permission by the municipality to use a public bomb shelter and the adjoining area (situated directly adjacent to their residences) for prayer and religious activities.

29/10/2021 01:47

Tags: Legal advocacy · Utah marriage · Netanya

Shortly after being allowed usage of the bomb shelter, the Haredi group built a huge pergola and other facilities and started holding religious services and other events from an early morning hour into late at night, causing great disturbance to the neighbors. The many adults and children who are involved in the group's programs mostly, if not all, come from outside the neighborhood.

Since the residents’ appeals to the municipality received little response, and they weren't even given details and documentation of the extent of the permit given to the Haredi group, and since our own letters to the municipality have gone unanswered, we have now filed a freedom of information petition, demanding clear answers and supporting documentation as to what permits were granted, what facilities and usage were included in the permit, and what conditions were set to their usage of this public space.

It's been over three months since we first requested the information, without the Municipality giving us any response. So, this week we filed a Freedom of Information petition with the Administrative Court.

We hope the filing of the petition will finally move the municipality to act. We will continue to support the residents in their struggle, and should the municipality fail to act – we’ll pursue the matter further in the courts, both on behalf the many residents in this neighborhood and in order to establish an additional precedent in the ongoing battle throughout the country, whereby local residents' rights are being trampled upon and municipalities refrain from taking action against the too many Haredi groups that follow the model of the rasha [wicked] in Mishna Pirkei Avot 5:13 who conducts his affairs holding that "What is yours is mine, and what is mine is mine"

Hiddush's work on online weddings via Utah County, which would open a window of opportunity for thousands of Israeli couples a year to marry civilly overseas while remaining in Israel, is a high priority for Hiddush.

#2. As described before, Hiddush's work on online weddings via Utah County, which would open a window of opportunity for thousands of Israeli couples a year to marry civilly overseas while remaining in Israel, is a high priority for Hiddush. There has been further exchange legal briefs this week with the State's representatives, and regretfully (though not surprisingly) the State is attempting to use every conceivable argument to attempt to refrain from responding to the petition on the merits, but rather is attempting to have the court further delay or transfer the case to another jurisdiction, or require that we submit a new petition as the facts of the case evolve. Stay tuned for further developments.

Read Maria's moving article, in which she describes her harrowing experience and you will easily realize that the battle for marriage freedom is not merely over the question over what ceremony should be legally required for a couple to be considered married, but, rather, a battle over core civil liberties and human dignity, which victimizes individuals in the process. Maria is one of the couples we represent. In the last newsletter, we included a clip from Channel 20, Israel's religious right-wing TV station, which featured their reporter's conclusion, similar to ours, that our legal success would have a far-reaching impact in breaking the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly over marriages of all Jews in Israel. His comments followed a short interview with Maria who described her plight.