Jerusalem was added to other cities, towns and villages
receiving a subsidy for locally-oriented call centers, with
special conditions designed to channel the subsidy to the
development of internationally-oriented call centers.
As reported in The Jerusalem Post, to benefit from the
incentives the call centers must be competitive
internationally, at least 75 percent of the services must be
rendered to clients abroad, and no fewer than 70 percent of
the employees must be either new immigrants (having arrived
in Israel since 1994), chareidim or Arabs.
"Our effort is focused on branding Jerusalem as a city of
business opportunities in those areas where we have
competitive advantages," said Eli Kazhdan, CEO of StartUp
Jerusalem, an organization promoting economic development in
the city, and key advocate of the program. "We look forward
to a continued strategic partnership with the government, the
municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority to
promote our nation's capital."
"If we succeed in helping foreign companies to successfully
bid for the tenders of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Labor, and as a result to employ a few hundred new
immigrants, ultra-Orthodox and Arabs under one roof, then we
see this as a great step forward that will certainly help
position Jerusalem on the international map for offshore
contact centers," said Jafar Sabbah of StartUp Jerusalem.
Other businesses involving phone line based outsourcing of
work abroad, including providers of legal services and
various medium- and high-technology services, are also
intended beneficiaries of the program.
The government decision will take effect immediately and
tenders will be issued inviting companies to take advantage
of the benefits.
Sources indicate that there is discussion of further
incentives which would complement today's government
decision, such as breaks on municipal tax (arnona) and land
development fees for all new businesses in Jerusalem,
including call center projects.
CSM
The program will help recently created jobs in new or
existing call centers in Jerusalem, providing NIS 1,000
toward the monthly wage of as many as 800 employees in the
city for up to five years, sources indicate. The average base
monthly wage in the city's only existing call center, CSM,
ranges from NIS 4,500 to NIS 8,000. CSM, is a subsidiary of
the US company IDT. CSM currently employs some 650
Jerusalemites even without government aid. Sources say that
the average call center employee sees the position as
temporary and will likely move on within six to nine
months.
