Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is on his first visit to North America in his new capacity, mayor of Jerusalem.

In an interview granted to the San Francisco Chronicle, the mayor expresses his total opposition to the light rail system under construction, now five years behind schedule, conveying his hope that the current two lines under construction will be operational by the end of 2010.

The rail system “was a bad inheritance” explains Barkat, who is reassessing the project. He is looking into the feasibility of canceling the future lines planned for the system, explaining a flexible bus system would be 20% of the cost and significantly easier to get up and running and maintain. Barkat, who is seeking to promote investment and tourism on his visit, is focusing on creating jobs and housing. He laments the fact that last week, 17,000 of the city’s young left, seeking work elsewhere.

The mayor explained that years of underinvestment and poor planning have resulted in severe problems in transportation, education and housing, economists say. The city’s annual budget of $800 million is less than Tel Aviv’s, even though Jerusalem has twice the population. Barkat says only 45 percent of residents over 15 are employed, or 1 taxpayer for every 3 residents, in contrast to Tel Aviv, where 64 percent over 15 are employed and where there are 3 workers for every 3 residents.

The mayor views foreign investment as a replacement for tax revenue, optimistically hoping to increase tourism from 2 million to 10 million over the next decade, a reality that would result in 150,000 tourist-related jobs.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)