By Peter Kohn, Australian Jewish News
Bentleigh Chabad is set to open a day care center in order to cater to a growing demand for a kindergarten and creche in the area, according to Rabbi Mendel Raskin.
The rabbi told The AJN last week that Bentleigh Chabad had received in-principle approval by Glen Eira Council and was awaiting for formal approval.
He expects the new center to commence operations “within two to three months” at the organisation’s Cecil Street premises.
“There’s been a demand [for day care] all along … there’s been red tape, but we’ve finally managed to get through that,” he said.
Rabbi Raskin said the early learning center would have broad appeal to local parents.
“We cater not just for religious families, we cater for Jewish families.”
The centre, to be named Gan Yisroel, will be operated by a management committee and has a permit for 39 children, from six months to six years of age. It is expected to employ up to seven staff.
It will be Bentleigh Chabad’s first day care center since its Ganenu center closed in 2004, after financial debts of around $500,000 and a dispute between Rabbi Raskin and staff and parents.
“When we operated [Ganenu], it was very popular and we’re expecting [Gan Yisroel] to be the same,” he said.
Bentleigh Chabad was founded in 1986, by Rabbi Raskin and Chabad identity Mottel Feiglin. Rabbi Raskin, who runs daily minyanim, lost control of the center when it went into liquidation in 2003, but it reverted to his control after he repurchased it later that year.
