A group of eight economics professors at the Hebrew
University publicized a letter proposing the transfer of the
chareidi population from Jerusalem. The letter, which
addresses the municipality's plan to expand the city
westward, calls for efforts to encourage "the non-working
population to migrate out of the city." Mayor Rabbi Uri
Lupoliansky expressed shock over the professors' remarks,
calling them "racist theories."
In recent months the Greens and the Friends of the
Environment have been waging a battle against the city's
Safdie Plan to extend the city's western border by annexing
land between Ramot and Mevasseret Tzion for the construction
of thousands of housing units, thereby allowing many young
couples to purchase reasonably-priced apartments in
Jerusalem.
The plan won the approval of all of the municipality's
professional figures, the Interior Ministry and the planning
committees, but a few months ago a group of left-wing
secularists began a well-organized campaign against the plan
with the help of public relations experts. Their central
claim is that construction should be promoted in the city
center and in existing neighborhoods, bringing more residents
into already populated areas.
Professional planning experts, who rejected the claims lodged
by the Greens and other left-wing opponents, have already
approved several of the plans. A careful examination of the
objections submitted in writing and articles against the plan
published in local and national newspapers reveals the
clamoring for "environmental quality" and "strengthening the
city center" is actually a veiled attempt to oust the
chareidi public from Jerusalem.
The letter by the eight Hebrew University professors clearly
shows the opposition to the various plans is motivated by
deep-seated anti-chareidi sentiments since the phrase "the
non-working population" does not refer to the residents of
East Jerusalem.
The letter, which has not yet been sent to any officials, is
being disseminated among economics circles at the university
and among Green organizers to garner additional support. The
original signatories are Avi Ben-Bassat, Oded Balor, Nachum
Gross, Sergasio Hart, Victor Lavi, Yoram Misher, Mordechai
Perry and Michael Keren.
Reporter Shlomo Tzezena, who published the letter, says the
professors attacked the municipality's declaration that the
Safdie Plan is designed to strengthen Jerusalem. "We are
fully in support of this goal," they insist, but "Jerusalem
is on the brink of collapse and strengthening it must be a
national objective of utmost importance.
"The implementation of the Safdie Plan during the next 20
years will weaken Jerusalem noticeably . . . precluding the
implementation of other, far better plans capable of
confronting the city's real problems; it will accelerate the
atrophy of the city center; it will irreversibly eliminate
land reserves that can serve for long-range development of
the city thirty years and more in the future."
The letter goes on to address Jerusalem's socioeconomic
status, which ranks far below other cities. "Due to enormous
gaps in birth rates, the city's economic basis is weakening
rapidly. As the relative mass of the weaker population in the
city increases, the stronger population is steadily leaving.
The demographic-economic makeup of the children in Jerusalem
today indicates that the economic state of the city will
decline rapidly in the future. This process tends to propel
itself faster and faster: the rise in relative mass of the
non-working population in the city will accelerate the
abandonment of the city by the working population."
As an alternative to the western expansion plan, the eight
professors propose "focusing efforts exclusively on the
physical renewal of the heart of the city by drawing an
educated, working population in toward the center of the
city. Concerted efforts are also needed to generate new
sources of employment, boost participation in the workforce
among city residents currently living on financial support
and encourage the out-migration from the city of the non-
working population."
Said Jerusalem Mayor Rabbi Lupoliansky, "I was shocked by the
professors' provocative remarks and I would not like to put
in writing conjectures from where these racist theories were
taken. To whom exactly are they referring by saying `to
encourage the out-migration from the city of the non-working
population?' The elderly? The handicapped? Children? Those
learning Torah in purity?" Rabbi Lupoliansky told Yated
Ne'eman that Jerusalem will only flourish through
collaboration and encouraging all components of the
population to move to and live in Jerusalem. "Only together
will we be able to make the city thrive for the sake of its
residents."
