From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Illegal Bnei Brak synagogues to be retroactively legalized, announces Shas
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Following a meeting with the Real Estate Enforcement Authority in the Bnei Brak municipality, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party announces a deal intended to retroactively legitimize synagogues built on public open spaces — land designated for communal use and often either left undeveloped or developed as public parks or plazas — in the central Israel ultra-Orthodox city.
According to Shas, under the arrangement “the municipality will promote a plan to change the designation of the land for public needs, enforcement will be suspended and the authority will supervise the implementation of the agreements in cooperation with the municipality.”
The deal is limited to Bnei Brak.
The meeting was held in Interior Minister Moshe Arbel’s (Shas) office, with Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri and Haim Biton (Shas), a minister within the Education Ministry, also present. Shas presents the plan as Deri’s initiative.
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