Tel Aviv
צילום: קרן נתנזון
Tel Aviv is killing us
Op-ed: Government policy that pushes young people to head to Tel Aviv dooms rest of country
The accelerated development of the State of Tel Aviv is threatening the State of Israel’s existence, that is, it dooms the rest of the country to oblivion. Indeed, the UN’s partition plan from 1947 is being executed by our very own hands these days.
Our government officials and senior bureaucrats, especially in the Treasury, are not fools, heaven forbid. These people are simply maligned by short-sightedness and irresponsibility towards the State of Israel. The problem is that we are creating an irreversible situation, and today we already have a state with a solid core, extending from Hadera to Gedera. This state shows financial and economic formidability, yet on the margins – Beersheba in the south and Haifa in the north – we have a grayish envelope that grows grimmer every day.
This is being manifested in all areas of life. The privatization of anything that moves created a delusional situation where the Haifa Port’s board of directors has no representatives from Haifa, so the board and senior management are located in…Tel Aviv. The same is true for the top management of our refineries and railway company.
Young people are moving to the State of Tel Aviv these days, for lack of other choice, where they are challenged by attractive jobs. They set up their homes there while clinging to their Haifa childhood memories. The demographic shift to Tel Aviv empties the north and Haifa of its finest sons and daughters.
Deliberate policy
The notion at the base of the Zionist narrative whereby our population should be spread out is not being maintained in practice. For example, the economic affairs court was located in Tel Aviv, because there was seemingly no other choice. In the US, for example, the economic court is not in New York or in Washington, but in Denver, Colorado. Why can’t our court be located in Haifa or Beersheba? The Treasury Gods have the answers.The pulverization of the north and south is the result of deliberate policy by the Israeli government and the short-sightedness of previous governments, which were so eager to privatize that they did not dedicate any thought to keeping the management offices in place, thereby creating management prospects for the talented young people living in Haifa or in Beersheba.
This grim reality trickles down to every area. Ask the directors of hospitals in Haifa, Tiberius or Tsfat how much donations they manage to raise compared to central Israel hospitals. Meanwhile, the Haifa Theater was on the verge of collapse for budgetary reasons. We could almost hear the cries of joys by Treasury officials for finally being rid of this “nuisance” of a theater beyond the State of Tel Aviv borders. Through hard work, we managed to save it.
Now, the Israeli government is debating where to set up the port of the future, in Haifa or in Ashdod. I pray that Treasury officials realize that a port in Ashdod would serve the State of Tel Aviv, while a port in the Haifa Gulf would create high quality jobs for all residents of the north.
I’m not being a crybaby here. We have a strong community in Haifa, and we continue to develop the city in spite of the government’s policy, rather than with its help. Yet despite all, Haifa is the next big thing.
Yona Yahav is Haifa’s mayor
