In honor of Jerusalem Day, the Knesset's Research and Information Center, in conjunction with the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, hosted on Monday a roundtable conference titled “Thinking Ahead: Long-Term Planning for Jerusalem," with the participation of Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage MK Zeev Elkin (Likud), Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, members of Knesset, policy makers and experts.
Adv. Hodaya Kain, director of the Research and Information Center, opened the conference by saying that long-term planning for Jerusalem poses an “immense challenge," because the city combines the old and the new, the sacred and the ordinary, as well as various sectors. At the end of the day Jerusalem is a home to the people who live in it," Kain added.
Lior Schillat, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, presented the Institute's Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, according to which the city's current population is 901,300, comprising 10 percent of the general population. Jerusalem has the largest number of ultra-Orthodox and Arab residents. The number of Arab residents, which currently make up 38 percent of the city's population, is on the rise, also due to the migration from Hebron, Schillat explained. On the other hand, the birth rate among the city's Jewish population is over 4.4 children per couple, compared with 3.4 among the Muslim population.
Knesset Director-General Albert Sakharovich said, “The practical connection between the Knesset and Jerusalem is clear. The Knesset is one of the city's symbols; it is important to the city, and the city is important to the Knesset. In the 20th Knesset I advanced a lot of work on issues related to sustainability and sustainable development, a key component of which is looking to the future. We are dealing with this extensively as we formulate the master plan for the Knesset 2040." Director-General Sakharovich said he hoped the conference would provide the various elements that operate in the city a “broader perspective on Jerusalem's complexity and its future challenges."
Mayor Lion said the “most painful issue" is Jerusalem's socioeconomic situation. “We are talking about decades of failures, and here we should decide that Jerusalem will not be the poverty capital of Israel, but a strong and leading city. In order to promote this, the most important thing is to build as many housing units as possible all around the city, including urban renewal. Over the past few years, we've significantly advanced the issue of transportation, including the Light Rail."
Addressing east Jerusalem, Mayor Lion said the city “will remain united forever, but for this to happen we must treat the residents of east Jerusalem exactly the same way we treat the residents of the western part of the city." Lion said he plans, among other things, to increase the Education Ministry's involvement in east Jerusalem. The Ministry is currently in charge of only 7 percent of educational institutions in east Jerusalem, he noted, while the other 93 percent are run by the Palestinian Authority. “The Palestinian education system is substandard. Its graduates cannot [get accepted to] institutions of higher learning in Israel, and this is a great loss," he said.
Former Jerusalem Mayor MK Nir Barkat (Likud) said, “When I look 30 years ahead, when the State of Israel will be 100 and we will have another 8 million people, the question is: where will they all live? If we do not act, the whole country will implode into Tel Aviv. The density will disrupt the quality of life in the center, in the Galil, the Golan, and in the rest of the country our situation will be even worse." Therefore, MK Barkat said, “the country must create demand and momentum in other areas, as we have done in Jerusalem."
In a panel moderated by reporter and News 12 anchor Ofer Hadad, the Jerusalem District Planner and the Director of Planning at the Ministry of Finance, Shira Talmy, said that “issues of poverty and employment are part of the social problem in Jerusalem. While this is troublesome, it is also an extraordinary resource. Jerusalem today is moving in the right direction, but we have to work harder on the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population and the Arab residents of East Jerusalem.”
She added: “if Jerusalem fails to provide enough housing units, it means that affluent populations who can afford a good alternative, will move out of the city. This trend must be stopped and therefore more and more residential units must be built. I think it's possible to double the city. Housing affects property tax and therefore there is a need to establish everything together - residential areas and employment centers. Next year we are expected to approve 9,500 housing units within the city.”
Mayor Lion confirmed the numbers and said, "this will bring about the reversal of the negative migration from the city.”
MK Meirav Cohen (Blue and White) said: “Employment is the factor that drives most young people out of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, many government units that are supposed to be based in Jerusalem, are not. Had they been located here, there would have been some 10,000 additional jobs. Relatively speaking, Jerusalem has a great advantage when it comes to housing research institutes, media outlets, government ministries and companies. We must work to strengthen this advantage."
Minister Elkin reiterated that “it's important to move all of the government units to Jerusalem, but if anyone thinks that this will be the solution to the city's economy, then they are wrong.” Minister Elkin stressed that most of the government units are already in Jerusalem. “It is important to know the numbers. Currently, only 12 small units remain out of city,” he added.
Regarding the increase in the scope of participation in the city’s labor market, MK Yitzhak Pindrus (United Torah Judaism) said, “Increasing the participation of ultra-Orthodox men is not the solution since almost 50% of these men are already part of the workforce. Jerusalem should not be turned into what it is not. If the challenge is economic, then it must be dealt with by empowering the working ultra-Orthodox women and men who earn a third of their secular counterparts.”
MK Roy Folkman (Kulanu) commented on the complexity of the city and said, "Within Jerusalem there are ostensibly three cities that are conducting various processes. The goals and work plans for east Jerusalem are not at all similar to those in the Western part of the city. There is one city, but with separate challenges. Of course, I support the partnership approach, but comparing every index with a city like Tel Aviv is artificial.”
Remarking on what MK Folkman said, Minister Elkin agreed that there are different populations in the city, but disagreed with the thesis of three cities, saying: “Jerusalem today is a future demographic model of the entire State of Israel, and it is a laboratory for Israel in 20 years.”
