The Kiryat Arba Council on Wednesday decided to shut down the local pool following an injunction issued by the High Court of Justice, compelling the council to offer mixed hours for women and men swimming together.
The council issued a statement saying “the petitioners’ request and the intervention of the High Court, even if they were intended to benefit a part of the public, resulted in the predictable result of shutting down the pool.”
Two weeks ago, residents of Kiryat Arba petitioned the High Court, demanding that the pool which is open to men and women at separate hours, also offer mixed hours.
In 2018, following a similar court injunction, the Kiryat Arba pool offered “family hours” with mixed swimming. But the move led to many local residents canceling their memberships, and the pool ran into financial difficulties which resulted in its closing.
Now, after a new attempt to open up the pool, the same group of local residents took the matter to court, which renewed its demand for mixed swimming hours, which ended up with the pool shutting down again, just in time for summer vacation.