Many people breathed a sigh of relief at the cancellation of the building program for West Jerusalem (known as the Safdie Plan, even though the architect behind it, Moshe Safdie, asked for his name to be officially removed) by the National Board of Planning and Construction. Many felt that the grandiose plan to build 20,000 apartments on open spaces could fatally damage the Judean mountains. Green organizations, especially the Society for the Protection of Nature, celebrated the impressive achievement. The public interest - preserving natural landscapes and open spaces, was wholeheartedly adopted by an overwhelming majority of council members.
On the face of it this would be appear to be cause for celebration. In fact, this is a dark day for Jerusalem. The celebration is partial, localized and limited, since the Judean Mountains are preserved; Jerusalem, however, faces a grave threat to its future. The cancellation of the Safdie plan and the absence of an alternative solution for a building of residential property on a large scale spells disaster. The demographic threat has become a concrete and painful problem. Without a massive building program to create neighborhoods for young couples and secular families, thereby drastically affecting property prices, and the creation of employment zones and leisure activity centers, Jerusalem will sink into oblivion fast.
Slogans such as the world city, Jerusalem of Gold, and others will not save the dying city either. This is no longer a battle between the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature. This is a public issue of the utmost importance - the status of Israel’s capital.
The scrapping of the Safdie Plans makes it essential that the Israeli government moves forward quickly with an alternative plan (this is no longer the responsibility of the Jerusalem Municipality but a government policy decision). Failure by the government to address this issue will turn Jerusalem into an Arab and haredi city within a few years, with all due respect to these communities. The city’s economy will die and Jerusalem will find itself sinking into an abyss. This is not a hysterical statement or an attempt to inflate the crisis out of all proportion, but a realistic appraisal of the situation.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, himself a former mayor of Jerusalem, must find the time, alongside his many activities, to put Jerusalem on the agenda immediately, and draw up an operational work plan that will create the infrastructure needed to attract the strong population sectors. With logical planning, allocation of resources, and the setting of clear and realistic timetables, the pending catastrophe can be turned into a golden opportunity.
There are those who feel that there is no alternative but to build in the Western part of the city. They may well be right. There is therefore room for the consideration of, among others, a building plan for West Jerusalem that is more flexible and more sensitive to environmental issues. Safeguarding nature is important, but it does not run contrary to other public interests. Just as the public interest requires the safeguarding of the environment, it also requires concern and action to heal the sick and neglected world city. And the sooner the better.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on February 8, 2007
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007