Har Nof to Keep Its Name After Residents Win Battle

The Har Nof neighborhood in Yerushalayim will keep its name after the municipality’s naming committee voted unanimously on Thursday to cancel a name change proposed by Mayor Moshe Lion and approved by the committee last year. Last November, Lion had ordered the name of the neighborhood changed to Neot Yosef, after Rishon LeTzion Hagaon Harav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, and Posek Hador Hagaon Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l.

The committee’s minutes stated that the objections of the residents of the neighborhood that were heard touched the hearts of the committee members who discussed them in a matter-of-fact and in-depth manner. In light of the complexity of the issue and the reasons raised in the discussion of the objections, the members of the committee decided to re-discuss the issue. After a discussion in the committee, the committee decided not to approve the name change of the neighborhood.

The decision to change the name of the neighborhood caused a stir in the Yerushalayim neighborhood, due to the fact that the decision was decided by the municipality without consulting the residents of the neighborhood who have been used to its name for about 40 years.

Representatives of the residents managed to collect close to 5,500 signatures of those who strongly oppose the name change of the neighborhood, including the family of Harav Ovadia Yosef, who announced that they oppose the name being imposed on the residents and the pressure exerted on the municipality eventually led to the decision.

The struggle headquarters of the residents welcomed the decision and thanked the residents who joined the struggle, including its legal part, which cost tens of thousands of shekels, which the residents of the neighborhood donated to the cause.