Less residents of Jerusalem are leaving, according to a study by the Jerusalem Center for Israel Studies, Those who have left largely moved to the city's suburbs.

In 2000, around 8,200 Jerusalemites left the capital. The figure fell to 6,700 by 2004 and then to 6,300 in 2006. According to the study, even within those numbers, upwards of 50 percent of those leaving the city moved to the suburbs of metropolitan Jerusalem, mainly in Judea and Samaria.

New olim (immigrants to Israel) are also choosing Jerusalem. In 2006, 13 percent of all new immigrants moved to Jerusalem. This is compared to 6 percent in the 90s and 8 percent in 2002.

Tourism has risen sharply in recent years, with occupied hotel rooms increasing by 150 percent since 2002.

New construction is booming, with 2,155 new housing units built in 2005, compared with 1,656 the previous year.

The number of children in Jerusalem schools has risen as well – by 16 percent, from 175,187 in 2002 to 203,350 in 2007. Religious school numbers have risen by 6 percent, 13 percent in hareidi-religious schools.

Likud MK: Add Suburbs to Jerusalem

Likud Knesset Member Yisrael Katz said he plans to introduce a bill in the Knesset next week that would add Ma'aleh Adumim, Mevasseret Zion and Givat Ze'ev to the municipality of Jerusalem.

He said the bill would allow the suburbs to retain most governmental powers and that the bill is aimed at preserving a Jewish majority in the capital. "This is a test for those who say they want to strengthen Jerusalem," MK Katz told Voice of Israel government radio Wednesday.

New Jerusalem Neighborhood Planned

A new Jewish community is planned for southeastern Jerusalem, between the neighborhoods of Har Homa and Gilo.

The 20-dunam (five-acre) site is located about 400 meters north of Rachel's Tomb and was purchased for $100,000 from an Arab resident of Bethlehem. The purchase has been registered with the Israel Lands Authority and approved by a Jerusalem Municipal Court judge.

The new neighborhood will be known as Tzofei Rachel (A view of Rachel).

Jerusalem Gets Solar-Powered Dumpsters

Jerusalem's municipality has placed its first solar-powered garbage dumpster on Jaffa Road, in the city center, according to Globes business news service.

The solar-powered dumpster can accommodate 750 liters (200 gallons) of compacted waste even though it is only 150 liters in size.

The dumpster has a built-in solar-powered compression system that can compress garbage to up to a fifth of its volume and operates for up to five days on the power supplied by just one hour of sunlight.

Light Rail to Open in 2010

A newly-revised timetable will put the long-awaited Jerusalem light rail train in service by April 2010.  The new public transportation option was initially set to launch in 2009, but was stalled due to lack of manpower and construction problems.  The 4.2 billion shekel project is the first of its kind in Israel, and is being jointly funded by the Transportation Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality.

According to a new agreement on the timeline and infrastructure, construction work to lay the tracks on Jerusalem's central Jaffa Road, which will begin in a month and a half and is to be completed in a year and half instead of two years. Major downtown traffic jams are expected to result from the work.

To decrease the inconvenience posed to Jerusalem drivers, shuttles will operate from a car park at the International Convention Center to the city center.  When the rail goes into use, it is expected to ease traffic congestion, improve access to the city center, and reduce smog.