UTJ chairman Yitzchak Goldknopf sent a sharply worded letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, protesting a government decision that he says completely ignores the Chareidi population of Yehuda and Shomron.

“I find it necessary to turn to you urgently and with deep pain, on behalf of the 200,000 Chareidi residents of Yehuda and Shomron,” Goldknopf wrote. “On the government agenda, under Item B, there is a dramatic proposal to establish temporary sites in rural yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron. Once again, we face an infuriating and inexplicable reality: the Chareidi public in Yehuda and Shomron is once again being excluded, sidelined, and completely left out of this plan.”

“Out of roughly half a million residents of Yehudah and Shomron, nearly 200,000 are Chareidim. The Chareidi public constitutes almost half of the area’s population, and the cities of Modi’in Illit and Beitar Illit are the largest urban centers in Yehuda and Shomron.”

“The heads of the Chareidi municipalities are asking me today with heavy hearts, and I’m directing this question to you: Why are they always left behind? How is it possible that the budgets, development programs, and benefits that reach other communities never reach the main Chareidi population centers in Yehuda and Shomron?”

“Is the blood of the residents of Beitar Illit, Modi’in Illit, and Emanuel less red? Is half of the region’s population invisible to the government? A very troubling feeling is growing among the public that this exclusion is not accidental, and that its purpose is to deny support and benefits to a particular sector.”

“We cannot accept such discrimination,” he asserted. “The Chareidi public is part of the settlement enterprise in the Holy Land and a full partner in strengthening, developing, and advancing the region, despite severe overcrowding and an acute housing shortage. It is entitled to every benefit and form of assistance as a matter of right, not as a favor.”

Goldknopf concluded by calling on Netanyahu: “As Prime Minister of all Israeli citizens, I ask you to heed the Chareidi sector in Yehuda and Shomron, to reexamine this section before it is approved, and to ensure that every plan, benefit, or regional development project includes the Chareidi municipalities and residents in a full and equal manner.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)