Arabs: Jaffa housing benefits for reservists 'discriminatory'
Residents of Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood angered by apartment benefits for reserve soldiers, claim housing shortage for local residents not addressed
A government decision to offer reserve soldiers housing benefits has not been met with unanimous approval. Three construction tenders including six apartments have sparked the anger of Arab representatives in Jaffa who submitted a petition to the High Court on Tuesday against the move, claiming it is discriminatory.
The tenders involve construction in the heart of Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood. An Israel Lands Administration notice said that in keeping with the government decision, reserve soldiers choosing to purchase property here would be eligible for a discount of 15% up to NIS 50,000 ($13,800).
Attorney Khalad Soualhi from the Islamic Council of Jaffa has asked the High Court for an injunction to halt the publication of the tender terms and freeze the process until a decision is reached concerning the petition against the tenders, based on the claim that the process perpetuates deprivation among local residents and increases discrimination.
Former MK Nadia Hilou is among those who identify with the petition. "The lack of housing for Arabs is completely unacceptable," she said. "We asked that an old decision be implemented, which was for the construction of housing for young couples, but it seems that finding a feasible housing solution for Arabs in Jaffa is not an issue that interests the decision-makers."
'Planning authorities walked all over us'
"We ask for discounts for Jaffa residents – Arabs and Jews alike," Hilou added. "But behind our back a plot has been hatched, and one fine day we were surprised to discover that what we'd been requesting for years, which was repeatedly rejected by the authorities who claimed it wasn't legal, suddenly gets approval on selective grounds for reserve soldiers. I have nothing at all against soldiers, but for God's sake, we're not suckers. The planning authorities walked all over us."
Representatives of the Arab population of Jaffa will convene in the coming days to decide how to continue their struggle on this issue. "If the establishment fails to understand us through dialogue, we'll join forces and start a public campaign and go out onto the streets," Hilou promised.
Kamal Agbaria, chairman of Ajami's neighborhood committee, was also critical of the tenders. "You can't sit with representatives of the establishment and talk about a solution for housing for over a year, and then get such a slap in the face," he said. "Someone's screwing with us, because charity begins at home, and we demand that priority be given to Jaffa residents when plots in the city are offered."
Israel Lands Administration responded that this was an "implementation of a decision made by the government, the chairman of the Israel Lands Administration and Minister of Housing Ariel Atias." The Administration, it claimed, is "enforcing a policy decided on in July of this year. The State gives incentives to serve in the reserves, to Bedouin and Druze soldiers as well, and the benefits are offered throughout the country."
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