Municipal Inspectors Dismantle the Prayer Tent of the Esteemed Rabbi Eliezer

Yesterday morning, Monday, June 18, 2018, Jerusalem municipality inspectors arrived and dismantled the prayer tent adjacent to the house of prayer of the Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a and the Shuvu Banim community, located on Ido HaNavi Street. It should be noted that the place served as shade and shelter for the multitudes who come to pray with the Tzaddik Rav. Many of these are people who had not previously merited to pray in such a unique and moving minyan as the niggunim (melodies) minyan of Rav Berland shlit"a.

The most infuriating thing about this whole story is that the tent is located entirely within the area of the students and followers of Rav Berland shlit"a, and 99% of the neighbors in the adjacent buildings on Ido HaNavi Street are regular worshippers at the site; the tent served them and their children.

Community activist Binyamin Machluf was distressed in an interview he gave to the Global Breslov Line: "It is no secret who is behind the plot to dismantle the tent that serves the entire population of worshippers, and who incited this in the media! We are talking about the same handful of Sikrikim (extremists) from Beit Shemesh who at one time harass soldiers, at another time harass police, and in other cases harass random passersby who do not meet their approval. These persecutors have been harassing the Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a and his community for several years now."

"Those narrow-minded individuals are trying in every way to hinder our progress, without much success. Now, out of desperation because their plans are failing as they see the thousands drawing closer to Rav Berland shlit"a, they have latched onto the prayer tent. Their claims are empty claims, such as that it bothers the neighbors. Let it be clear: without the tent, the neighbors will suffer from the noise much more than they have until today, as people come to exercise their fundamental right and spiritual duty to pray every day."

"I feel obligated to mention that the tent was originally erected for the rainy and cold winter months; in fact, last summer there was no tent and we managed perfectly well without it."

From knowledgeable sources, we learned that in an agreement made with the few residents who were bothered by the tent, it was agreed in advance that the tent would be dismantled in the summer, and that is what the gabbaim intended to do.

Photos courtesy of Shahar Eliyahu