“Putting us with the secular Jews is like fire and water. What will happen when I light Shabbat candles and a non-religious child will ask me what these candles are about? It is simply not compatible."
Almost 100 Haredi Kindergarten Assistants Refuse To Be Transferred To Secular Kindergartens
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
83 haredi state-employed kindergarten assistants in Jerusalem – all of them women – are refusing to be transferred to non-haredi kindergartens, Yeshiva World reported.
The assistants, who have have all been worked in haredi schools for at least 10 years, asked Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen, who holds the city’s haredi education portfolio, to stop their transfers out of the haredi schools system.
“Putting us with the secular Jews is like fire and water. What will happen when I light Shabbat candles and a non-religious child will ask me what these candles are about? It is simply not compatible,” one of the haredi assistants reportedly told Cohen.
The women also complained that working in secular kindergartens in the city would involve too much commute time.
Danny Bonfil of the Histadrut Labor Federation wrote to the Jerusalem city government on behalf of the haredi women. He asked the city to wait until a meeting with all the involved parties is held before assigning any of the haredi women to secular kindergartens. Bonfil also reportedly promised the haredi women he will do whatever he can to protect their rights and their jobs.
Deputy Mayor Cohen’s office said it would also work to find a solution acceptable to all sides, but noted the city has not violated any law by assigning the haredi women to work in secular schools.