As part of its coalition negotiations, the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party is working to find solutions for the haredi community's housing crisis.
According to haredi businessman Rabbi Zvi Rabinsky, who serves as a member of the Degel Hatorah faction's Housing Committee, all the solutions proposed thus far "put the couples in a coma": For a haredi couple wishing to purchase an apartment at a reasonable price, there is no option other than integrating into existing haredi communities to mixed cities in the periphery.
"The solutions we are speaking about now are things that will be relevant in another seven years," he explained in an interview with Kol Hai Radio. "This puts people in a coma."
"A couple getting married now is going to rent an apartment for seven or eight years. That's 400,000 shekel, about, that they are spending on rent during these years. It's simply a waste."
"The solution now is to go to haredi communities in mixed cities," he added. "There as well the prices have gone up a bit, unfortunately. There are a lot of places where there are good communities, of all sectors - Lithuanian[-haredi], Sephardic[-haredi], hasidic,"
To this end, Rabbi Rabinsky said that the "Torah seed groups" around Israel, which currently exist only in the Religious Zionist sector, should be created also for the haredi sector.
"There is a lot of money in the Torah seed groups, that they do not manage to designate for us also. We demand that our representatives act on this matter. I call on people to buy apartments in the periphery and to live in them."