The story brewing over the last few months regards the character of the state religious schools, known in Hebrew by the acronym MM"D or mamad (not to be confused with safe rooms that use the same acronym and pronunciation). And like so many previous educational struggles involving mamad, this one takes place right here in Petach Tikva. Amishav started off as a transit camp for North African immigrants on the outskirts of the city. Like so many other maabarot, it remained depressed. Around 20 years ago the city began to develop the neighborhood, now known as Hadar Ganim. The influx of national-religious parents decided to send their children to the local mamad, called Morasha, and thus … [Read more...]