The Bank Leumi announced here today that an agreement was signed on March 1st with the rabbinical authorities in Israel allowing work to proceed on the new Ganei Chamat Hotel near Tiberias, a project of the bank’s affiliate, Africa-Israel Investments, Ltd.
The dispute arose when the religious establishment in Israel alleged that a wing of the hotel was being built over the graves of Jewish sages buried centuries ago. The Bank Leumi announcement here said the Gand Rabbis of Gur, Belz, Wishnitz and Boyan, along with 17 other Torah sages, have publicly concurred in the agreement and lifted the boycott of the bank, Israel’s oldest and one of its four largest financial institutions.
According to the agreement, construction on the site can now resume without further digging, under the supervision of an inspector appointed by the rabbinical authorities. The Bank said the halachic solution was reached by a professional committee consisting of two rabbis, the project architect, and an engineer appointed by the Chief Rabbinate. It is coordinating its work with a ministerial committee headed by Yosef Burg, Israel’s Minister of Religious Affairs.
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