Beis Yisrael Shtiblach Push Back Against Nearby Vendors
The hanhala of the Beis Yisrael shtiblach in Yerushalayim and the neighborhood residents’ committee are pushing back against vendors operating sales booths near the shtiblach, saying the area is being turned into a “marketplace.”
Several stands, including booths selling electronic products, have been set up in the plaza outside the shtiblach. Gabbaim and local residents say the stands have drawn large crowds, with music playing near the entrance and significant congestion, and that such an environment is completely out of place next to a makom tefillah.
The crowds have made it harder for mispallelim to enter and exit, particularly those with mobility limitations who need room for mobility aids and other equipment.
Following several unsuccessful attempts by the residents’ committee and shul hanhala to address the matter, a strongly worded notice was posted at the entrance urging the tzibur to avoid the vendors.
The notice says that if the stands remain, “within a short period of time the area alongside the shtiblach will become a marketplace, with everything that entails.” It cites the crowds and music around the booths and claims that women and girls have remained there “in dress and manner that are not appropriate to the character of the place.”
The notice calls the situation a chillul Hashem, particularly given the area’s proximity to batei knesses, and asks mispallelim to refrain from doing business with the vendors “until they leave and remove themselves from the area.”
The notice was signed by the hanhala of the Beis Yisrael shtiblach and the neighborhood residents’ committee.
