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"A Torah city must be clean"

Bnei Brak deputy mayor: give me control or I quit

Akiva Stern warns of unbearable filth in the city and calls it a chillul Hashem • Demands full managerial authority over sanitation, sets ultimatum: Without authority, I cannot accept responsibility 

3 min read
Bnei Brak Sanitation Crisis: Deputy Mayor Demands full Control or He Walks
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The sanitation crisis in Bnei Brak has reached a breaking point. Akiva Stern, deputy mayor and holder of the sanitation portfolio for Degel HaTorah, has sent a sharply worded letter to city manager Yisrael Irnshtein warning of intolerable filth across the city and demanding full managerial authority over the sanitation system. In the letter, brought before the city council on Sunday, Stern laid down an ultimatum: without the proper authority, he cannot accept full responsibility for the portfolio.

"Personally, I am pained by the state of cleanliness in the city," Stern wrote. "A city of Torah must be clean, and this situation is a chillul Hashem, this is our obligation to the residents of the city." He continued: "Let it be clear that without the granting of authority, I cannot accept full responsibility for the sanitation portfolio."

According to the letter, Stern's office has recently been flooded with complaints from residents about sanitation. Acting mayor Menachem Shapira has also sounded the alarm. Stern noted that he has heard reports of initiatives that, in his words, are designed to sabotage or undermine the city's sanitation efforts.

In his letter, Stern demands to be appointed project manager for the sanitation system and to present a comprehensive preparedness plan to the city council. Among other things, he is asking for answers on reinforcing street-sweeping operations, increasing the frequency of rubbish and bin collection on erev chag and motzei chag, and on the oversight and monitoring mechanisms meant to ensure that every street in the city receives service.

The matter was discussed at the city council meeting on Sunday, against the backdrop of mounting public criticism over the appearance and cleanliness of the city. Two weeks ago, acting mayor Menachem Shapira addressed the situation at the "Ashreichem" conference before hundreds of yeshiva bochurim. "The situation of Bnei Brak municipality is not the easiest right now, financially," Shapira said, noting that the difficulties are visible on the street, in the lack of cleanliness, in the filth, and in the overall appearance of the city of Torah.

"We are not going to give up on this, and I am confident that this will be sorted out as quickly as possible," Shapira declared at the time. "The city cannot look like this, it cannot remain like this, and it will not remain like this. The city, b'ezras Hashem, will be clean, it will be taken care of."

MK Yaakov Asher, chairman of United Torah Judaism, also addressed the issue in an interview with Yated Ne'eman and acknowledged that the situation demands change: "The cleanliness, the appearance of the streets, do not honor what the city represents." Asher added that he intends to work after the elections to advance an overhaul in the area, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Bnei Brak municipality. "It can and must be done," he said.
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