(live here) – A recently opened addiction treatment center on Liberia Street in Haifa's Danya neighborhood has been closed following an administrative order to cease use issued by the Haifa Municipality. The order was issued on the grounds that the center was operating without a permit for deviant use and contrary to the planning designation of the building in which it was located. The opening of the center sparked strong opposition from neighborhood residents, mainly due to its proximity to a municipal kindergarten, and the claims they made ultimately led to the municipality's unusual move.
The center opened in the Danya neighborhood – and the residents were furious
The building where the center operated is located on Liberia Street in the heart of the Danya neighborhood – a prestigious and quiet neighborhood in southern Haifa. The center is designed to provide treatment for people struggling with gambling addiction. Upon its opening, residents of the neighborhood appealed to the municipality to close it immediately. They claim that its location – just a few meters from municipal kindergartens – endangers the safety of the children.
The residents stressed that they do not underestimate the importance of addiction treatment, but argued that the location of the center is inappropriate. "It is impossible for a center for men trying to quit to be located next to a kindergarten," one of the mothers noted. "We do not know who the people are who come here, there is no constant supervision - and our children are exposed to this every day."
Parents' concerns: from gambling to sexual violence
Parents of children at the "Hatzev" and "Limuni" kindergartens, which are adjacent to the center, claimed that their initial concern was that it was a rehab center for men who had dealt with sex offenses. Even when it was reported that the center deals with treating gambling addiction only, the concern did not dissipate.
"Gambling addiction is also a serious problem – and no one assures us that the patients here are not involved in other behaviors as well," said the mother of a five-year-old. "When children move from one kindergarten to another, they may encounter people who are emotionally upset – and this is not the right place for that. No parent would be calm if such a center were opened next to their child's kindergarten."
Municipality response: Excessive use and inappropriate planning designation
Following the residents' appeal and increasing public pressure, the issue of the building's licensing was examined, and it was discovered that the center was operating without a permit for excessive use. As a result, the Haifa Municipality issued an administrative order to cease use, prohibiting the center from continuing to operate in its current format.
In this way, the municipality found a way to seemingly respond to the pressure of residents – without entering into a direct confrontation on the issue of opposition to treatment centers within residential neighborhoods. The municipality has not yet released an official response on the subject, but officials on its behalf confirmed that the order was issued “for planning reasons only.”
Most of the city's treatment centers are concentrated in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Addiction treatment centers, hostels and similar services have been operating for years throughout Haifa – mainly in the Hadar, Kiryat Haim and Kiryat Eliezer neighborhoods. Residents of those neighborhoods have argued over the years that the municipality chooses to concentrate these institutions in areas with low socioeconomic backgrounds.
One of the main criticisms of the municipality's policy is that when it comes to disadvantaged neighborhoods, there is no consideration, but when it comes to strong neighborhoods, the municipality acts quickly and decisively.
"Last year we had no problem with the previous tenants"
Parents from the neighborhood noted that last year, a completely different group of people with special needs lived in the building and no complaints or problems were reported. "The previous tenants didn't bother anyone," says the mother of the girl, Magen Hatzav. "But now it's a center that treats people who are in the midst of a crisis - and that's a completely different reality."
Even when the parents were informed that the patients there only come because of gambling addiction, and are not treated for drug or violence issues, the difficult feelings did not disappear. Some parents expressed frustration at having to find out for themselves the nature of the activity in the building, and claimed that they did not receive a regular update from the municipality or the center's operators.
The Way Association: "Various treatment services""
The rehab center in Dania was run by the "Haderech" association, which provides a wide range of services across the country - in the areas of drug, alcohol, gambling and even sex addiction treatment. The association's website details the services it offers, and this fact may have only deepened the fears of the parents in the neighborhood.
The owner of the building refused to comment, the order is still in effect.
The owner of the building (whose name is withheld from the system), in which the center operated, asked not to respond to our inquiry regarding the situation that has arisen.
I wonder what would have happened if Camp David had opened in Hadar Shaprintsak or Kiryat Eliezer if the mayor had also intervened.
Shame on the snobbish residents of Dania. There is no danger from a gambling treatment center and Dr. Amnon Michael is an excellent professional. Where is the wife of the city's mayor, Rivka Yahav, a professor of social work (!) who will protect disadvantaged populations.
You might think that Dania's pompous people don't have drug problems. But they have money for prestigious rehab centers abroad.
To vomit on you.
I'm glad the reactions here are like this, although I think at least some of them are driven more by hatred (justified, justified...) for the disgusting complainers than by concern for vulnerable populations.
Shame on the municipality, shame, shame.
This is what it's like when there's a group of people with money, power, and no respect for others.
The owner of the century is the owner of the word.
I'm sure it happened because people in Denmark don't want this place, God forbid.
It will hurt the value of their apartments.
A group of parents and neighbors (which in no way represents the majority opinion) who are nothing but ignorant, ignorant, intolerant, cowards. They worry about the value of the real estate they own. I am ashamed to belong to such a community. Shame on the neighborhood, on the residents who oppose the quiet activities of the center, on some of the parents of the children in the nearby kindergarten who became angry and stirred up the opposition on the spot, and especially on the municipality that is once again giving in to a powerful and arrogant group of residents/parents, without any real justification.
The main thing is that they talk in high-pitched voices about seeing others as equals and giving everyone an opportunity, while at the same time rejecting others from their immediate environment.
It will open again in a few days, but in Hadar as usual, all the garbage is concentrated in Hadar.
If everything operating in Hadar Carmel had to be closed for illegal use, 300 businesses would probably be closed. But this is a neighborhood that has no public relations, public figures, and lawyers who live there and work to remove nuisances. The difference in enforcement policies for nuisances and uses in the city's neighborhoods explains why
We are actually two cities. The one that has privileged neighborhoods with enforcement and nuisance removal, and the one that is a dump for all these nuisances. Very simple.
The center is a closed place. Patients no longer have close proximity to children and the children don't just walk around the streets. I don't understand what the problem is with the residents of Paltz. They complain about an activity that is important to heal people, like any therapeutic clinic. If a psychologist opens a clinic there, they will say that mentally ill people come here, so they will close the clinic. It's not fair at all.
When money is the law, the wealthy have the last word.
Who cares if another girl is raped in Kiryat Haim?
If the municipality shut down all the illegal and impermissible things that happen in Hadar, for example, an unlicensed locksmith operating in an open public space, great. But in Haifa, they are not ashamed of inequality, and they do not hide the discrimination. For decades, since the Wadi Salib riots until today, there are those at the bottom and those at the top, everything is very clear. Local politics is a network of interests. There is nothing new under the sun, and there is no cure.
Hypocritical residents. Not really surprising.
The rich are a severe blow to all of humanity.