Illustration
IllustrationYaakov Cohen/Flash90

MK Menachem Eliezer Moses (UTJ) visited Kiryat Gat Mayor Aviram Dahari to discuss changing the city to fit the needs of a potential haredi community.

Moses chose to visit Kiryat Gat after discussions regarding plans for a large plot of land on the city's western end came up. The land is zoned for thousands of apartments, and its proximity to an existing haredi neighborhood prompted Moses to push for the land to be used specifically for the haredi community, to the exclusion of other residents.

According to Moses, the housing crisis in the haredi community is one of the worst in the country, and a thousands of brand-new apartments in Kiryat Gat would provide an excellent an excellent solution for haredi young couples looking for cheap housing in an all-haredi community.

During the visit, Dahari showed Moses the 7,500 new apartments in the "Karmei Gat" area of the city, and said he has "no problem settling a haredi community in his city."

However, he also said the Finance Ministry, Interior Ministry, and Construction and Housing Ministry would need to work together to provide the funds necessary for the haredi community.

Aside from housing units, the new haredi community in Kiryat Gat will require the construction of new preschools, schools, synagogues, and ritual baths (mikva). Dahari emphasized that while the haredi community is welcome in the city, the government will be expected to provide sufficient funding for public services in the new neighborhood, so that makeshift buildings, caravans, and unauthorized centers do not spring up to fill the gap.

Recently, MK Yaakov Asher (UTJ) complained about the fact that some of the subsidized housing meant for haredi families ends up going to non-haredi (religious or secular) families instead. Since the government decided to freeze building in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and prices in general have gone up, creating a housing crisis for all of Israel's young families.