A ministerial exchange ceremony was held at the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry on Thursday between the new minister Meir Porush and the outgoing minister Ze’ev Elkin.

“This ministry, the Jerusalem ministry, has gone through too many upheavals since its establishment, the ministry whose goal is to promote the prosperity and development of the holiest city in the world deserves stability, deserves an honorable status. Jerusalem deserves more and this is what was important to us and stood at the forefront of our minds when formulating the coalition agreement.”

Regarding his duty to serve all the residents of Jerusalem, he said: “In the Knesset elections that took place two months ago, the Chareidi public made up over 40% of the voters, and in addition to the existing activities in the ministry, there is no reason that the Chareidi public shouldn’t have activities in proportion to its share of the city’s population, and that is why we will increase activities among this population as well, so that all communities can enjoy them equally.”

Referring to the city’s challenges, he added: “One of the city’s biggest challenges is the negative immigration. I will work together with the ministry staff, members of the government, my friend the mayor, and members of the city council to change the trend. For this to happen, two key things are needed. The first, to build housing units – there’s still where to build in Jerusalem – and we need to build in all of Jerusalem without fear – all of Jerusalem is ours.”

“And the second thing, the city’s economy, occupational prospects, and tourist sector need to be strengthened so that the city rich in spirit will also enjoy physical well-being. We will implement the five-year ‘Lavi’ plan promoted by Minister Elkin and approved on the last Jerusalem Day for economic and occupational development in the city with a budget of about one billion shekels.”

Porush devoted a significant part of his speech to the responsibility he received for Lag B’Omer in Meron: “Time is short and there’s much work. It’s 124 days until Lag B’Omer, that’s a very short time to accomplish a lot of work. Unfortunately, I can tell you already now. Although over a year and a half has passed since the disaster, not much has been done to improve the situation. We won’t be able to change everything in four months. Lag B’Omer this year won’t be perfect, although b’ezras Hashem, it will be close to that.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)