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NEWS
Finance Minister Visits Modi'in Illit
By A. Cohen
Finance Minister Avraham Hirshson paid a visit to Modi'in
Illit on Monday 3 Shvat as a guest of Council Head Rabbi
Yaakov Guterman. Following a tour of local educational
institutions and company worksites he said, "Modi'in Illit is
a model of economic growth and educational growth and should
serve as a model for cities throughout Eretz Yisroel."
The visit began at Rabbi Guterman's office, where Hirshson
was briefed on local growth along with the fact the city was
built on private lands, which has led to numerous problems
— though various government ministries have already
invested hundreds of millions of shekels in local
infrastructures. But do to the unparalleled expansion of all
of the city's neighborhoods, the investment so far has not
yet closed the gaps. The problem stems from the fact that in
planned government construction, large infrastructure
projects such as sewage are executed in parallel to housing
development. In Modiin Illit, since it was built on private
land, this planning and execution did not take place and the
authorities have to play catch-up as development
continues.
The entourage of ministry officials and reporters then drove
to the high-tech facilities located at the commercial center
at the base of Brachfeld. During visits to Imagestore and
Citybook, the Finance Minister got a firsthand look at the
employment revolution taking place in the city, saying he was
taken by surprise despite his close familiarity with the
chareidi public and its representatives. He also noted the
Council Head had succeeded in a short period of time in
making changes that typically take years. "Rabbi Guterman has
proven much can be done with a bit of daring and talent and
has demonstrated impressive abilities in advancing projects,"
he said.
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