by Nadav Shragai
We're finally getting
back to normalcy in Jerusalem. Perhaps the 1,500 housing units that were
approved for construction in Ramat Shlomo on Monday herald the dawning
of a new era of sanity, a return to the kind of behavior a sovereign
power is expected to display in its own capital. A new sanity because
zoning and construction in Jerusalem in recent years reflected precisely
the opposite: hesitation, fear and lack of decisiveness, punctuated by
question marks over our justification.
Monday's decision and
the discussion scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday on further
construction in the southern Jerusalem community of Givat Hamatos (which
will include housing for Arabs too, as it should and must),
communicates a message to the world that Jerusalem is not a part of the
game; that the construction freeze has come to an end here as well. Now
what we have to do is restore independence to the city's zoning
committees, releasing them of the obligation to get approval from the
Prime Minister's Office for every plan of this kind. For four decades,
the zoning committees were independent, and they made professional
decisions based on a super-policy formulated by most of Israel's
administrations.
This super-policy was
that Jerusalem would never be divided again. We said it in the past
(with the exception of the administrations of Prime Ministers Ehud Barak
and Ehud Olmert, both of whom betrayed their loyalty to Jerusalem), and
we need to say it again, without feeling shame, without blinking and
without stuttering. Construction in Har Homa, Ramat Shlomo and Givat
Hamatos contributes to the unity of the city and diminishes the chances
that it will be divided, and is good construction — for Jews and Arabs
alike. It may temporarily cost us our good relations with the U.S. and
Europe, it may even elicit sanctions, but for Jerusalem it would be
worth it.
Israel, still
handcuffed by the EU and the U.S. and unable to combat the rampant
illegal construction in east Jerusalem, should explain to its friends
that the illegal Palestinian housing also constitutes "facts on the
ground" — and not to Israel's benefit. It was the residents of east
Jerusalem, of all people, who filed hundreds of complaints last year
against this illegal construction. Even they feel that enough is enough.
Real estate criminals are stealing private land and chaos reigns
supreme. We need to create a situation that allows the Arabs to build
legally, mainly upward, like in the Jewish sector. At the same time,
despite the views of "our friends" the Europeans, we need to resume
demolitions of illegal structures, especially in places where illegal
construction undermines city planning efforts and commandeers land
intended for public use.
The other message
communicated by Israel's approval of the Ramat Shlomo construction is
directed inward: Jerusalem cannot continue to survive with a mere 1,500
to 2,000 new housing units per year. Not when the demand exceeds 4,500
housing units annually. This enormous gap is prompting Jerusalemites to
leave the city in droves: 18,000 Jews leave Jerusalem every year, and
the Jewish majority gets smaller and smaller.
The added bonus of
having the ultra-Orthodox public in Jerusalem, which is especially
vulnerable to the housing crisis, live in designated ultra-Orthodox
neighborhoods rather than having to look for housing in secular areas,
is also a blessing as it will diminish friction.
Now, all we need to do is to keep
going, without fear. Monday's decision is just a drop in the bucket.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
Nadav Shragai
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3073
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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