Moshe Leon
Moshe LeonHaim Toito

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon spoke this morning (Sunday) at the Besheva and Israel National News-Arutz Sheva economic conference at the Vert Hotel in Jerusalem.

In an interview with Israel National News-Arutz Sheva editor-in-chief Uzi Baruch, Leon referred to the wave of Arab terrorism and claimed that overall Jerusalem is quiet: "The public today is smart enough to understand that Jerusalem is quiet and safe even though there are problems at the edges that are being taken care of. As soon as we decided that Jerusalem is united, that means east and west together, 300 thousand Arabs came to live together with us. For the past four years, I have been focused on the neighborhoods in the east of the city, which are very far behind.''

Leon said that 5% of eastern Jerusalem's students study in the Israeli education system and the rest in either the Jordanian or Palestinian Authority education system, which contains anti-Jewish incitement materials and a low academic level. "Each new school we open, we see a desire on the part of the families to enroll their children in our education. The parents in the eastern part of the city also prefer an Israeli education for their children. Our interest, of course, is for there to be peace in Jerusalem for both sides because we live together."

Leon also addressed the issue of the cost of living and said, "Fortunately, we have not felt any economic damage in the last two months. The holiday season was full of domestic and foreign tourism."

"We are making sure to develop employment in the city and are building over a million meters of employment towers throughout the city because there were no places to work without them. Likewise regarding housing units, we are building 6,000 housing units per year compared to previous years when there were only 2,000 housing units.

"Jerusalem is at the peak of a revolution," emphasized Leon. "We are building train lines and this coming May we will be able to travel safely towards Hadassah Ein Kerem and Neve Ya'akov. We are working diligently to end and prevent the residents in the area from suffering.''

Leon concluded: "I am the mayor of Jerusalem and that means I am the mayor of a city of one million inhabitants, every resident must feel that he is getting what he is entitled to. I am helping the haredim to solve classroom problems, we are building a culture that did not exist in Jerusalem. We have the highest number of students of the entire country the country, 47,000 students, an increase compared to previous years. We prioritize education and encourage students so study here so that everyone will be satisfied. Because I am everyone's mayor."