Rabbi Chaim Miller, who heads the Movement for Jerusalem and its Inhabitants met with the city’s chief engineer, Shlomo Eshkol. One of the topics of discussion the lack of affordable housing for young chareidi couples. Miller explained that many young couples fled the capital because it was simply too expensive for them.
Miller feels that if the government was serious in its efforts to provide affordable chareidi housing, it would have purchased the Schneller complex from the IDF along with other suitable properties to develop them for affordable housing.
Milles bemoans the fact that the Schneller IDF complex in Geula was purchased at an enormous price and luxury housing will be built that can only be purchased by wealthy investors abroad, once again ignoring the growing housing shortage faced by young couples in Israel. Miller feels that the prime minister and his cabinet say the right things but fail to back up their words with actions.
The two agreed to continue meeting to discuss issues of common interest.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
13 Responses
In 1979, before many readers of the site were born, a two-bedroom apartment in the then-new Kiryat Unsdorf, between Kiryat Itri and Ezras Torah, cost US$100,000. To me it may as well have been a million dollars. Renting in this apartment until the owner wanted it back, then another, and then another, finally drove me not only out of Yerushalayim, but out of the country.
Who do I contact to purchase one of the Geula apartments?
Even if Miller himself just loves his name out on most of the stuff he says and does he happens to be hundred percent right. I myself being a chutznik in yerushalayim and bought an apartment for 800,000 dollars can say that it’s a terrible terrible thing that is happening to young couples here in yerushalayim. I as were so many other’s positive that for sure the Schneller Camp, being that it was government owned will be used for public housing and which is ending up being as he said just luxury apartments for pple abroad. This is the proof how much this government cares about its pple. It’s all politics and money.
In 1979 I was newly married. The religious community in Ashdod was just starting. We bought an apartment there for $5,000. Today Ashdod is a tremendous communtity growing in leaps and bounds. What a shame more people didn’t have a little bit of forsight.
Simple solutions:
1) LEARN SKILLS
2) GET JOBS
3) WORK
Stop relying on father-in-laws.
Not much different than Brooklyn, 5 town, Monsey prices. Couples should move out to Yehuda N Shomron, plenty of cheap housing and come and visit Yerushalayim often.
The WEALTHY INVESTORS and Chutzniks run the show in the capital city.
Expecting their Government to give us money is awful. Even when you succeed getting the money it only causes Chilul Hashem. Whatever Ruchnius You think you may get by living in Yerusahlayim, Your loosing it all by taking money from the Government. It is never good to take Tzdoko if you do not have too, but it is much worse when it means forcing our way into the Frei State budget and giving Torah Judaism the image of ultimate Shnorers. This was not the way of Avrohom Avinu.
#6-
Let’s not shift the blame here to wealty investors and chutzniks.
The basic failure here is to come to grips with Olam Hazeh.
The core problem here is people not working and not being trained to work.
Olam Hazeh costs money. It costs money to live.
We are bringing up a generation of entitlement people that work the ” system ” whether in America or in Israel.
The “system” cannot continue to sustain this burden. There is a limit to subsidized housing, food and healthcare.
I blame the Rabbonim for failure of insight and failure to guide their communities for the future.
modern orthodox-
your “solutions” have nothing to do with the problem. There are plenty of people, non-Chareidi and working who can’t afford Yerushalayim partially because new housing tends to be luxury apartments.
My parents looked at a 2 bedroom apt in Givat shaul that cost as much as my 5.5 bedroom house located just 20 minutes away
How NOT to keep charedi couples in Yerushalyim.
Good because;
1) spread yiddishkiet
2) Save money/build equity
3) For those who dont know this is what the Gerrer rebbe shlita did. and that is how the city of rechovot started!!
True.
Luxury housing costs in Yerushalayim were driven up by Chutz L’aartez people- predominately the French- who need an escape route just in case Islam totally takes over France.
Now that is one part of the issue. Not all housing is luxury housing. The other part of the problem is societal.
There is a society that doesn’t want to work, pay taxes, (and serve in the army), and yet expects nice (non-luxury) housing to be provided by others for them.
In other words, a free ride in Olem Hazeh.
That cannot continue.
If there were people willing to pay more for the IDF camp, why should it be used for a purpose that will bring in less? Would you use your property for a lesser value instead of a greater one? So why should the government do otherwise? If you can’t afford to live in Yerusholayim, then don’t! It’s not the government’s job to subsidise an apartment for you, just so you can live wherever you like! If housing in Y’m is scarce, then it is right and proper that it should go to the highest bidder, and those of us who can’t compete should live elsewhere. (And the same applies to Manhattan, etc.)
# 5 – Modern Orthodox
Speaking about getting educated – plural of Father-in-law is Fathers-in-law