Army veterans to get cheaper housing
Israel Land Administration Council approves government plan for affordable homes for students, eligible citizens. Committee setting criteria to favor religious, secular and Druze sectors over haredim
This is was the first time a governmental body met some of the demands made by leaders of the tent city protest.
The program not include criteria determining who will enjoy the cheap housing, but Administration officials stressed that it would not be delayed until the criteria are set, but would be implemented at the same time.
According to the Administration and the Housing and Construction Ministry, the committee setting the criteria will favor the Jewish religious, Jewish secular and Druze sectors over the ultra-Orthodox sector, as the Administration recommends giving precedence to army or national service graduates.
The recommendations create a balance between the different sectors in the population in terms of the number of children in each household, which affects the sizes of the apartments contractors will be asked to build.
According to the recommended plan, childless families will receive up to 20% of the apartments, families with up to two children will get 35% of the apartments, and families with at least three children will get up to 45% of the apartments.
Students protest outside meeting
Dozens of students and young adults held a protest outside the Administration building during the meeting. Some of the protestors tried to break into the building but were stopped by a police force deployed in the area.
The protestors argued that parts of the plan favored the haredi public and demanded that the criteria be changed in order to match the needs of young secular couples.
The Jerusalem tent city organizers issued a statement in response to the Administration Council's decision: "The Jerusalem tent city members protested outside the Administration meeting today in light of Housing Minister Ariel Atias' plan to approve these programs based on old criteria favoring large families.
"The Jerusalem tent city members demanded a change in the criteria which would favor the working population that contributes to the State through military or national service, even if it doesn't have a large family.
"Therefore, the Administration Council's decision matches the protestors' demand – to freeze the marketing of cheap apartments until new criteria are set, serving the entire public and not just a specific sector.
"The Jerusalem tent city will monitor the implementation of the decision and continue fighting for the right to affordable housing for everyone."
Housing Minister Atias said Wednesday, "These decisions change a historic policy: The State land will no longer be used as a means for making a profit but will serve the citizens. We'll issue bids for thousands of housing units at 50% of the land value for affordable housing, 70% of the land's value for apartment for rent, and a 100% reduction in lands for student dorms.
Billie Frenkel and Omri Efraim contributed to this report
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