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BET SHEMESH WEEKLY NEWS May 13, 2011/9 Iyar

BET SHEMESH WEEKLY NEWS May 13, 2011/9 Iyar Volume II, Issue 5   By Dov Lipman ddlipman@aol.com email to subscribe     thanks again for his permission to publish   CHAREIDI PARTY JOINS OBJECTIONS TO RBS GIMMEL 2 The movement to object to the current plans for the construction of RBS Gimmel 2 received a major boost when a chareidi party in the Mayor's coalition submitted an objection.  Eli Friedman of the TOV party signed an objection on behalf of his party in which he claimed that the planners were ruining the lives of the chareidi families who were going to move to Gimmel 2 because of the lack of green space, shopping space, matnasim or space for children to play.  Friedman also pointed out that the lack of shopping space will mean that close to 2,000 more families will have to use the already overcrowded mercaz in RBS A.  The party calls for the construction of the mega mall which the Mayor fought and successfully stopped - calling for it to be built with sensitivity to the needs of the chareidi community.       TIME PERIOD FOR OBJECTIONS EXTENDED  The regional council extended the time period for objecting to the construction of RBS Gimmel 2 to May 25 after numerous procedural flaws were exposed by the organizers of the objections.  There is significant evidence that an attempt was made to render all objections invalid and, were it not for the keen eye of some local activists, this may have gone unnoticed.  Caught in this attempt to manipulate procedure and rules, the regional council changed course and showed extra leniency in granting an extension.  To date, nearly 1,500 objections have been filed along with a professional objection of more than 40 pages with expert opinions explaining why the current plans are flawed.    THE COURTS FREEZE THE CITY'S LANDGRAB  A few weeks ago we reported the deal cut between Mayor Moshe Abutbol and Interior Minister Eli Yishai to annex 3 industrial areas worth 10 million NIS in tax revenue to Bet Shemesh from Mateh Yehuda.  The leadership of Mateh Yehuda has fought this decision on numerous fronts including turning to the courts.  This week, the court ruled to freeze the transfer of the land until a proper hearing is held.  A court date of June 19th was given for Bet Shemesh to appear and answer its questions.  Moshe Dadon, the regional head of Mateh Yehuda, declared that the positive relationship between the neighboring regions is at stake.  Mayor Abutbol responded that, per Yishai's instructions, he met with Mateh Yehuda leaders and offered to only take half of the area originally annexed and Mateh Yehuda refused to accept this offer.  He concluded, "I will accept whatever the courts decide."    LERNER-ABUTBOL CONTROVERSY Mayor Moshe Abutbol went onto the stage at the RBS Yom Haátzmaut celebration and declared that Shalom Lerner (Býachad) has entered into negotiations with him to enter the coalition.  Lerner was shocked and angered to hear these words which he says have no basis at all.  "I told the Mayor, possibly 10 different times, that I have no intention of joining his coalition."  Lerner called on the Mayor to stop playing cheap politics since the declaration put Lerner on the defensive with local news outlets and citizens who were in attendance.  The Mayor responded to Lerner's words by saying, "I said what I said as a joke in the spirit of the festive atmosphere...If I caused any damage to Lerner's image because of what I said, this was not my intention and I apologize for it."   NEW WEB SITE FOR LOCAL WATER COMPANY Mei Shemesh, the local water company, has established a new web site to help residents with customer service inquiries and for news regarding future plans and programs.  The web address is www.m-sms.co.il      NATIONAL PRIZE FOR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL The city's lone secular high school, Branco Weiss, was awarded a prestigious national award for excellence this past week.  The long process to determine the prize winner included numerous visits from members of a special committee commissioned to choose the winner.  The visits included pbservations during class time, interviews with students and staff, and presentations from alumni.

BET SHEMESH WEEKLY NEWS

BET SHEMESH WEEKLY NEWS Dec. 24, 2010/17 Tevet Volume I, Issue 40

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MURDER SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN BET SHEMESH

Last Saturday night, residents of RBS Bet saw two suspicious Arabs enter one
of the buildings of the construction site in Kiryat Belz, right in the
beginning of RBS Bet. They alerted police who immediately suspected that
they could have been involved in the horrible murder of the US citizen in
the woods near Bet Shemesh. On Sunday afternoon, plain clothed police
raided the site and ended up arresting two suspects in the murder. The
police have not released any further information. (DL - Once the police
release all the information, I will be organizing a mass public outcry
regarding the illegal workers throughout the city, and especially those who
linger at the entrance to RBS Bet and in other locations throughout the day.
I will send out all the information once our mode of action is finalized.)

CITY TACKLES YOUTH ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE
The city has hired Shlomi Revivo to direct a local program focused on
preventative measures to keep city youth away from alcohol and drug use.
Shlomi will be running numerous programs and will be speaking at all local
schools. The kickoff event for this new program was held this week with a
presentation from Tamir Lion, recognized nationally for his work on
preventing these abuses. He highlighted a few things which parents must do
to insure that their children never lapse into a mode where they feel a need
to turn to these destructive behaviors:
1)Children cannot have any "screens" in their bedrooms - no computer,
television, x box type game unit, or video ipod.

2)When parents are spending time with children, they should show the
children that they are turning off the cell phone. Answering the phone and
telling the caller that you are busy spending time with your child already
makes the child feel unimportant.

3)Families should sit together and just talk without food or games for 30
minutes each week. At first the children feel awkward about it but, after a
while, they start asking for it.

4)Don't make frequent calls or write constant sms messages to your children
who have cell phones to make sure they are ok. They have to learn that they
are ok and can be trusted and independent.

5)Children need to learn to read quietly in their down time and they will
likely only do so if they see their parents reading.

6)Until the age of 18, children need from 8-12 hours of sleep and should be
eating a healthy diet with a really good meal to start their days and not
too much sugar anytime.

LOCAL FIREMEN THANKED
The national fire chief, Shimon Romach, joined mayor Abutbol and the council
heads of Mateh Yehuda and Mevaseret Tzion this past week in a ceremony
thanking volunteers of the Bet Shemesh Fire department for their work in the
North during the Carmel fire. Deputy Mayor, Meir Balayish (Dor Acher)
presented the chief with a plaque thanking him for the help he has provided
to the local station.

HEAVY FINES FOR ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION AND....MORE ILLEGAL PERMITS GRANTED

Local residents continue to be fined very high amounts for illegal
construction and additions. One family was fined 120,000 NIS for
constructing on top of the roof of the building. The man claims that people
told him that the permits would be taken care of, but, as it turns out, no
one ever issued the permits. The courts fined two other families 50,000 NIS
for construction on their roofs. Amazingly, with all the violations being
uncovered, illegal activities on a municipal level may be continuing. City
councilman Natan Sheetrit (Likud) has charged that councilman Moshe Montag
(Degel Hatorah) who holds the construction portfolio is trying to find ways
to enable people to add floors to their buildings as well as granting
permits when they should not be granted. Sheetrit sent copies of these
charges to the State Comptroller and the Interior Ministry.

TRANSPORTATION POLL COMMENCING
The transportation ministry and the Bet Shemesh municipality are embarking
on a major project to improve traffic in the city. As a first step, a city
wide poll will begin this week. Residents will be called and asked
questions regarding how often you use public transportation, where you
generally travel to, what modes of transportation you use, etc. The
municipality asks that residents please give pollsters the time to do their
jobs properly so they can have the information needed to improve the quality
of our transportation.

NEW "RESIDENT CARD" FOR THIS JANUARY

The city will be producing "resident cards" as part of its celebration of 60
years of Bet Shemesh. These cards will enable residents to benefit from
reduced prices in 60 local stores during the month of January. Local
businesses who want to apply to be one of the 60 stores chosen for this
program should call 077-350-6161. Residents should be on the lookout for
information regarding how to receive these cards and where they can be used.

120 COLLEGE STUDENTS RECEIVE GRANTS
A new local program will come into fruition this Sunday night when 120 local
college students will receive grants from 5,000-8,000 NIS. The students
have committed to volunteer in the city's schools in various capacities
throughout the year in return for the grants. City councilman Richard Peres
(Labor) arranged for this program in the 2010 budget and has announced that
the program will be included in the 2011 budget, hopefully with increases in
the amounts of money and students involved.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING
This week's city council meeting began with the possibility of not erupting
into the usual pandemonium but it quickly deteriorated. The Mayor opened
the meeting by quoting from a report in Haaretz and "themarker" that Bet
Shemesh is one of three cities in Israel "on the rise." This led to great
cynism from the opposition members leading councilman Moshe Montag (Degel
HaTorah) to scream out to a secular council member, "See, even in the
Demarker they see that we (the chareidim) are eating you up." After things
calmed down, the Mayor proudly announced that the Culture Hall will be built
on its planned location and, while opposition members pointed out that there
was no need for any drama or committees which the Mayor created, everyone
praised the project in unison. Councilman Richard Peres (Labor) announced
that the project should reach its completion within 20 months from the start
of construction which should be in the coming months. It was also announced
that the new City Hall complex will be built in Old Bet Shemesh next to the
Sheiber gym where there are currently numerous city offices. This will be
voted on formally in the next council meeting. The rest of the meeting
included nothing of major significance but still managed to erupt into
shouting matches between coalition and opposition members and even some jabs
between coalition members. At one point, a person who was watching the
meeting outside of city hall (meetings are broadcast on a screen outside the
building) actually came into the room and asked, "Do you know that you look
like a bunch of clowns out there and people are watching?" If anyone wants
to know when a council meeting is taking place, please e-mail me and I will
inform you when the next one is scheduled.

Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to the Weekly News.
Many people are unaware of the service and could really gain from basic
information regarding what is happening in the city on weekly basis.

Please tell them to e-mail ddlipman@gmail.com to subscribe.

Response from Minister & Parking Mercaz in RBSA

From: Dov Lipman <ddlipman@gmail.com>

 

A big thank you to everyone in list land for signing the petition over the
past few weeks demanding that the Minister for Public Security get involved
in the crime situation in our city, especially the school burglaries.  The
Minister's aide called me today and informed me that the Minister was
motivated into action after reading the petition and seeing the number of
signatures.  They are sending an official response in the coming days which
I will share with the list and she told me that the Minister is getting
involved with the situation immediately. 

Dov Lipman

 

From: "Aryeh Sonnenberg" <aryehsonnenberg@gmail.com>

 

Of course, I'm talking about the Mercaz Mischari in RBS A.

If you are sick of circling around again and again to find a spot, sign the
petition: www.atzuma.co.il/rbsmercaz.

You'll find a video there, as well as downloadable petition forms, too.

* Yes, we need to do something about people that park in more than one
space.
* Yes, we need to encourage business owners and employees to park further
away.
* Yes, we need to get the tenants to park underground.
* Yes, we need to free up the 30+ spots taken by rental companies and used
car salesmen.

We need you to sign the petition so we can work on all of these short and
long-term issues.

www.atzuma.co.il/rbsmercaz

Aryeh Sonnenberg

Bet Shemesh Weekly News - November 26, 2010

To Subscribe email ddlipman@aol.com
BET SHEMESH WEEKLY NEWSNov. 26, 2010/19 Kislev  Volume I, Issue 35 
 
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 REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL MEETING

The city council met on Sunday evening.  The following is a review of what transpired at the meeting:

*The council approved the half year budget report.  City treasurer, Aryeh Bardugo, reported a deficit of 2.5 million NIS which he attributed to expenses related to purchasing water from the new water company.  Bardugo then said that the third quarter report would be released soon which will include the national government providing 17 million NIS to make up for the budget shortfalls.  Opposition members were quick to point out that this means the deficit had really reached 20 million NIS while coalition members responded with praise for the Mayor's ability to get makeup funds from the government.


*The council approved 18 million NIS of government funds to improve the city's older neighborhoods.  There was some controversy regarding how the funds would be used and the fact that the residents have not been consulted regarding how to best use the funds.  During the discussion, a youth entered the room and began berating councilman Motti Cohen.  He got close to physical contact with Cohen and had to be physically removed from the room all the while screaming to the Mayor, "I'm sorry Moshe, I had to do this to protect your honor!"


Over 100 residents of Old Bet Shemesh gathered outside City Hall during the meeting to protest the fact that they are not being consulted over how this money should be spent.  They want the money to go towards basic infrastructure problems such as their broken sewage pipes but the city is directing it more towards pathways and more external improvements.

*The Mayor delegated the Computer and Information portfolio to Deputy Mayor Meir Balayish.

*The Mayor gave a brief report about his trip to Italy where he met with members of the Jewish community and encouraged them to make aliyah and live in Bet Shemesh.

*The Mayor condemned any acts of violence, especially from city workers in the wake of allegations of a city worker having punched a citizen in the face last week.
 FREE MORTGAGE ADVICE FOR YOUNG COUPLES

Bet Shemesh has been chosen as one of 20 cities to receive a full time mortgage counselor who will provide advice free of charge.  This service, provided by the national government, is a project of MK Gila Gamliel (Likud), serves as Deputy Minister for youth, student, and women's affairs.  Local resident and Likud activist Keti Sheetrit is credited with working with Gamilel to bring this service to Bet Shemesh. 
 DELEGATION HEADS TO COCOA, FLORIDA

A delegation of Bet Shemesh residents and youth has departed for sister city Cocoa, Florida.  The trip includes a 5 day cruise together with 150 Cocoa residents.  The Bet Shemesh group will light Chanuka candles for all 6,000 cruise passengers followed by a performance on the ship by local choir "Bein Hashmashot."  The choir will also perform at the Cocoa Music Hall, at a NASA memorial for the Columbia astronauts including Ilan Ramon and in a special show for the Jewish community of Orlando.
 REBELLION IN SHAS ON A LOCAL LEVEL?

A local Rav from the Shas movement has made public that he has organized a group to try to take away the local leadership in Shas from Mayor Moshe Abutobol.  The group feels that Abutbol has strayed from the core values and principles of the party and that he is not taking care of the Sephardim who put him into power.  He said that the situation is so bad that there is a risk of their being two Shas movements in Bet Shemesh, similar to the situation in Beit Sheán where Shas split with one group receiving 2 mandates and the other 1 mandate in the last elections. 
 STATE COMPTROLLER INVESTIGATING BET SHEMESH 

State comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss (pictured), is clearly interested in the problems within City Hall.  Staff members of his office arrived at City Hall where they demanded to see certain documents and downloaded huge amounts of information from computers.  Officials have indicated that they are investigating issues related to manpower and hirings but they emphasized that no issue is off limits and encouraged residents to write to the comptroller's office with any issues and problems they have had with the local government.  Complaints can be registered at the following site: http://www.mevaker.gov.il/serve/site/english/eombudsman_frame.asp
and all residents who want to complain should follow the advice of this official and do so, especially since Bet Shemesh is now the subject of an investigation.
 PETITION AGAINST POLICE REACHES OVER 1,000 SIGNATURES

The petition demanding that the national government supply the local police station with more officers and patrol cars has reached over 1,000 signatures.  If you have not  yet signed the petition please do so (preferably in Hebrew letters) at http://www.atzuma.co.il/betshemeshpolice.

Please also encourage neighbors and friends to sign the petition. 
 62.1% SERVE IN THE IDF

Bet Shemesh residents were stunned to learn that, according to a recent report, only 62.1% of eligible young men in the city actually serve in the IDF.  This places the city in 60th place among the country's cities, followed by Rahat, Netivot, Yerushalayim (41.8%), Elád, Beitar Ilit and Bnei Brak (11.5%). 
 HOME GARDENING AND COMPOST WORKSHOP

Matnas Meyerhoff will be holding a workshop to teach residents about compost and other home gardening tips on Sunday between 7:00p.m. and 9:00p.m.  For more information, please contact Renee Halpert at 052-350-6592 or reneeh@netvision.net.il. 
 EVENTS FOR CHANUKAH

There are a wide range of events happening in the city throughout Chanukah.  Here are some highlights:


Thursday December 2 - A chanukah festival at the Sheinfeld shopping center beginning at 4:00p.m. including a magic show, raffles and other surprises including free sufganiyot and drinks for all children.

Thursday December 2 - A Chanukah party for women with singer Miri Or, at Matnas Zinman beginning at 8:30p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 057-318-9949.

Motzei Shabbat December 4 (Day 4) - A movie called "Pages in the Wind" FOR WOMEN ONLY at 8:00p.m. at Matnas Zinman.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 057-318-9949.

Monday December 6 - A play called "Ima, do you see me?" performed by Ariella Savir, a blind singer and actress, together with her daughters.  The play is geared to children ages 5-12 and begins at 10:30a.m. at Matnas Zinman in the center of Old Bet Shemesh.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 057-318-9949.

Monday December 6 - A sound and light show on big screen for the entire family called "The Trap" (seems a bit on the scary side to me - DL) at 8:00p.m. at Matnas Zinman in the center of Old BS.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 057-318-9949.

Wednesday December 8 - The movie, "The strength of a child Maccabi" on big screen at the Ulam Sport in RBS.  Men's showing - 12:00p.m., Women's showing - 1:30p.m.

Have a Shabbat Shalom and a Happy and Meaningful Chanuka,
                                         Dov Lipman





 

Shabbos with Rav Nati and Yesh Ma L'asot RBSA

BS"D
 
This Shabbos we will be spending with Rav Nati in his home / beit midrash - beit knesset on Nachshon 6-B top floor (by sorek).

We will have a full prayer schedule starting with an unbelievable and most uplifting Kabbalas Shabbos that will definately create a feeling of joy and love in welcoming in the Shabbos Queen. This will bring down blessing for you and your family for the whole week as Rav Nati taught us, the way we recieve Shabbos has an effect for the whole week to come on everyhting in the whole week, so lets welcome it in the right way, full of happiness, singing and dancing!

FRIDAY NIGHT MINCHA: Ashrei @ 4:20
SHABBOS SHACHARIT: Hodu @ 8:00
SHABBOS MINCHA (Followed by a "Bring your own 3rd Meal"): Ashrei @ 4:00
 
We look forward to seing you. 
 
Yehoshua Goldstein

02-992-3264 BreslovRBSA@gmail.com
--

WWW.YeshMaLasot.org

"I do not believe that there is a situation that can not be repaired by Prayer"

Rav Nati

Very Important Petition Requesting Strengthening of the Bet Shemesh Police - עצומה חשובה מאוד לבקש תגבור למשטרת בית שמש

 

Very Important Petition Requesting Strengthening of the Bet Shemesh Police - עצומה חשובה מאוד לבקש תגבור למשטרת בית שמש

עצומה חשובה מאוד לדעתי, המבקשת מהממשלה לתגבר את כוחות המשטרה בבית שמש, נא לחתום בלינק המופיע למטה אם טרם עשית זאת:

http://www.atzuma.co.il/betshemeshpolice

 

 

In my opinion, this is a very important petition, requesting governmental approval for increased manpower for our Police Department in Bet Shemesh; please click the link and sign, if you have not done so already.

http://www.atzuma.co.il/betshemeshpolice

  

Shabbat Shalom,

 כתריאל לב Catriel Lev