At the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, the Israeli government approved a resolution proposing the establishment of a new haredi city in Kasif, in the Negev.
According to the resolution, it has been decided to "establish a new urban settlement with a haredi character in Kasif, in the area of the Tel Arad junction in the Negev, north-west of the intersection of Road 31 with Road 80, in an area spanning 7,000 dunams."
The government also decided to "instruct the Interior Minister to promote the establishment of a special committee for the purpose of establishing the locality ... and to hold a discussion within 90 days regarding the district plan."
The preamble to the resolution notes that, "In recent years, a number of estimates have been published for the housing needs of the haredi sector over the coming decades ... According to a recent estimate by the National Economic Council from 2019, between 2017 and 2040, around 300,000 new haredi households will seek to enter the housing market, necessitating further construction plans. The establishment of the city of Kasif, planned to include over 20,000 housing units, can significantly help meet these targets."
Ultimately, Kasif is expected to cater to a population of between 100,000 and 125,000 people. During Monday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Bennett said, "We are deciding today on the establishment of a haredi city, Kasif, which will alleviate the severe housing crisis in haredi society. It has been many years since the state has established a new haredi city, but this government is a government of all Israel's citizens, and we are attentive to the plight of every citizen in Israel."
Haredi Knesset members, however, sharply criticized the decision. MK Meir Porush said that, "The proposal to establish the city of Kasif has been bandied about for 15 years already. It is a proposal that has been consistently opposed by the entire haredi public, because of one simple reason: We need apartments now, not in another ten years' time."
MK Yaakov Asher added that, "People who truly concern themselves with the needs of haredi society do not abruptly cancel a decision made by previous governments to establish a haredi city in west Kiryat Gat, and do not rob the haredi public of the tens of thousands of apartments that were planned there. Establishing Kasif at some vague point in the distant future will in no way compensate for this injustice. Mr. Bennett, we are not stupid."
The chairman of the United Torah Judaism party, MK Moshe Gafni, noted that, "I have consistently opposed the establishment of a haredi city in Kasif. The plans were already rejected in the past in favor of building a city in Shafir. No one is going to live in Kasif."
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri also attacked the government for canceling other plans for haredi cities that never came to fruition, plans that were seen as more feasible, such as that in western Kiryat Gat.
"Bennett and Elkin's fraudulent government continues to deceive the public and abuse the haredi sector, whose sole sin is that they stand by their principles and refuse to join this government that seeks to destroy Judaism," Deri said.