We wrote last week of the tensions between the desire to preserve historic Jerusalem buildings for posterity and the need to increase the housing supply so that young couples won’t leave the capital for cheaper pastures.
Fortunately, the Jerusalem Municipality has now taken a step toward making available more rental units, without losing a single historical structure in the process. A new regulation will bring to the front doors of many currently empty apartments a sign reading, “Apartment for Rent.”
What’s the secret? What will get these apartment-owners – most of whom live abroad – to put their part-time homes on the rental market? Simple: Raise the property tax (arnona) on unlived-in apartments by more than 100 percent.
Thus, unlived-in apartments will now be taxed at the exorbitant rate of over 223 shekels per meter per year – something like $475 a month for a home of 100 square meters (1,076 square feet). At present, the highest annual arnona rate in the capital is half that – NIS 112 per square meter. It’s win-win for the city: Either the owners will rent out their homes, or they’ll pay double – money that will be used to add more affordable housing for young families.
Why is it so critically important for the future not only of Jerusalem, but of the entire state of Israel, to ensure affordable housing for Jews in Yerushalayim? What is the dire need to make sure Jews don’t leave the capital?
Simply put, the more the city’s Jewish majority shrinks, the greater is the danger that the shrinkage rate will speed up – and the more acute is the threat that the city could end up divided. Security threats in the Holy City will increase, causing yet more Jews to leave the capital and leading to demoralization for Jews throughout the country and the world.
The demographic trends are worrisome, though possibly reversible. During the worst period of the last two decades (1997-2000), the city lost some 8,000 residents each year: 18,000 moved out, 10,000 moved in. The numbers have been improving, but the city continues to lose several thousand Jews each year. In 1967, some 23 percent of the city’s population was Arab; in 2010, it was 34 percent, and by 2013, it had climbed to nearly 37 percent.
On the other hand, demographics expert Prof. DellaPergola says there’s room for hope: If Jewish movement into and out of Jerusalem is balanced in the years up to 2020, his research has found, the Jewish population could reach as high as 63-65 percent of the total (leaving 30-32 percent Arab, and 5 percent “other”). And let’s not forget aliyah, which has always been a source of increased Jewish population in Israel – though far from fully tapped.
The city’s growth through recently-reported increased birth rates, new immigrants, and less emigration is not enough. These numbers “cannot ensure a renewed growth of the Jewish majority, if the added Jewish population has nowhere to live” – so states long-time Jerusalem expert Nadav Shragai.
In fact, the main reason Jews leave Yerushalayim is the high cost of the little housing that is available. Dozens of government decisions intended to strengthen Jerusalem and attract population have remained on paper, in whole or in part. It is hoped and expected that the decision to raise arnona rates on empty apartments will add thousands of new apartments to the supply.
Shragai has some other suggestions: A separate local authority could be created, under Israeli sovereignty, for Arab neighborhoods that are “outside the fence.” This would formally subtract tens of thousands of Arabs from Jerusalem territory, without compromising Israeli sovereignty over the area.
Similarly, more flexible conditions for eastern Jerusalem Arabs to retain their municipal resident status should be applied. Thus, numerous Arab residents would remain outside the city, with no incentive to return since they would not fear losing their rights.
Another proposal is to implement an already-approved government decision to build another bedroom suburb for the capital. This would add about 120,000 Jews to Jerusalem, in administrative terms.
KeepJerusalem has been working for years to ensure that Jerusalem remains united under Israeli sovereignty. Efforts need to be made on many fronts: public relations, education, demographic, political, and more. But it all begins with our own convictions: If we do not believe that Jerusalem is ours – all of it, even parts that are currently hard to access safely because of a threatening Arab presence – this erodes the “inner and essential national strength” that has served us well throughout our history.
In this era of relativism, we must remember that our capital was not arbitrarily chosen, as was Washington, D.C., for instance. Jerusalem was chosen precisely for its religious sanctity, national history, and inherent importance. The same is true, of course, for the entire Land of Israel – and our claims to both of them stand proudly upon our profound and unshakeable perception of this truth.
To give up on problematic areas, in Jerusalem or elsewhere, has proven to be downright dangerous. Two simple examples that come to mind are Moshe Dayan’s relinquishing of the keys to the Temple Mount, and Ariel Sharon’s self-expulsion from Gush Katif.
Running away from problems in Yerushalayim similarly does not solve them. Security issues must be dealt with forcefully – and Netanyahu’s visit to the scene of last week’s murderous Tel Aviv terror attack, where all he had to say was, ‘Keep your eyes open, fellow citizens,’ comes to mind as a negative example. We must deal proactively with the demographic dangers in Jerusalem as well. More construction and housing is an absolute imperative at this time in our Eternal Holy City.
Concerned readers are invited to take part in KeepJerusalem’s activities designed to influence national and municipal leaders to the importance of our housing needs in Jerusalem. Please visit www.KeepJerusalem.org or send an e-mail to [email protected].