Givat Zeev Loses One Beis Knesses, Gets Another

The state of Israel has committed to building a replacement beis knesses for the one ordered demolished by the High Court in Givat Zeev, Arutz Sheva reported on Sunday.

Religious Services Ministry director-general Oded Flus notified the head of the Givat Ze’ev municipality,Yossi Avrahami, that the Ministry has promised to donate 5.2 million shekels ($1.34 million) towards the construction of a new synagogue to take the place of the one ordered destroyed by the Court.

The sum for rebuilding was arrived at in an agreement by then-Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mandleblit, who now serves as Attorney General.

The old synagogue, in use for over 20 years, fell victim to a petition to the High Court by a leftist group which alleged that the structure had been built on privately-owned Palestinian land. The Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and rejected documents submitted by local Jewish residents showing that they had purchased the land and were the rightful owners.

Construction of the new structure is expected to begin in the coming months.

Givat Zeev is located three miles northwest of Yerushalayim in the Binyamin Regional Council.