In a speech from the Knesset plenum on Monday, UTJ MK Yaakov Asher slammed Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin on his decision to cancel the plan for the establishment of 13,000 living units for the Charedi sector in the neighborhood of Shafir, also known as Kiryat Gat East.
“Deri and Litzman, as the Interior and Housing ministers, worked on the Shafir project,” Asher said. “I also contributed my part and we worked to adapt the neighborhood to the needs of Chareidim. The Housing Ministry has a special program for planning neighborhoods for the Chareidi public – mosdot, the number of floors in buildings, green areas, and so on.”
“The State invested a large amount of resources in order to prepare the neighborhood for Chareidim. There were even thoughts of eventually transforming the neighborhood into a city of its own because there are additional housing complexes that are in the planning pipeline.”
“The plan has been ready for marketing for several months already,” Asher continued. “But then came Elkin’s revenge and silence from Yamina and Shaked who stole the government’s solution for the thousands of young Chareidi couples who are forced to live in basements and machsanim. Elkin and his cronies canceled our plan with a wave of his hand in the name of political revenge against our children.”
Elkin and Shaked announced that they are instead promoting the city of Kasif in the Negev for the Chareidi sector. However, Chareidi MKs have rejected that option as it is too far away from Chareidi centers.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
New Hopes, Elkin and Schgaked also big liars,elkin should take off his kippah he is a nothing and now as a Minister he thinks his is great and Schaket is the same type.they are right on the way of jewish hater Liebermann
Very nice jewish state.
the fact is the chareidim are in the opposition so why do they think Bennett owes them anything especially with Lieberman in power.
The article failed to mention that there were also cancellations of other planned development efforts unrelated to the Chareidi tzibur in areas that already were overcrowded and lacked the infrastructure to accomodate large numbers of new residents. While I’m certain there is some element of politics involved in any of these decisions, the urban planners for years have been pushing to decentralize new development into the Negev where there is space for smart growth. There is a finite limit to how many people can be safely and affordably accommodated in established urban centers.
Just as in the U.S. there have been Chareidi groups relocating to and flourishing in OOT locations, the traditional pushback from politicians that it is “too far away from Chareidi centers” won’t carry much weight going forward, especially when dealing with subsidized housing. Certainly, if any Chareidi or secular developer wants to self-finance the costs of closer in housing, there are few restrictions on their doing so.
The Charedi kehilla are learning what it means to be in opposition.
There is no guarantee that they will always have political power…how about building up some proper communal infrastructure, education for its members, employment and money making ability to ensure that the kehilla gets what it needs without having to rely on handouts?