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Last update - 07:23 10/11/2008
Jerusalem of filth: Capital ranks last in livability among Israel's largest cities
By Lior Dattel, Anat Poraz, Shuki Sadeh and Ranit Nachum-Halevi, TheMarker Correspondents
Tags: Israel News, Jerusalem 

ge of NIS 601 overall, Jerusalem spends among the most on infrastructure. One of the most successful projects is Route 9 from the Motza exit to the Begin Freeway. It took six years to build the crucial underpass, but as soon as it opened congestion at the entrance to the city cleared up.
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Most of the roads in the rest of the city, however, have too many potholes. Even so, the average number of traffic accidents involving injuries from 2004 to 2006 was lower than in the other cities. While Jerusalem's infrastructure is constantly being modernized, many of the old buildings are sorely neglected and historical buildings are demolished or sold to the highest bidder.

The city's only plus in the employment sphere is the Har Hotzvim industrial park, where about 10,000 people work. Begun in the 1970s and expanded in the 1990s, Har Hotzvim is one of the largest and most advanced high-tech centers in the country. Intel, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Rad and Medinol all have offices there. Until last week, there was also a branch of Amdocs, which was closed due to the current economic crisis.

Hebrew University, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School are all excellent institutions of higher education. Recently Hebrew University was ranked 65th among universities worldwide.

Jerusalem is trying its best to attract students to the capital. The city center has been revitalized, thanks to rent subsidies of up to NIS 5,000 granted to students to encourage them to live in the area. Another project aimed at assisting students is a Hebrew University initiated student housing complex.

Israel's capital also has impressive shopping and entertainment districts, especially the open-air Mahane Yehuda market, which was recently upgraded to a "boutique market," with designer clothing stores and restaurants, and the new Mamila mall, adjacent to the Old City, which serves as Jerusalem's Fifth Avenue. The shops in Mamila have brought some international flavor to the city, although their wares seem more geared toward tourists than locals, who are among the poorest in the country.

Sports fans have been waiting over four years for the completion of a multi-purpose stadium, planned for the southeaster suburb of Malha. Work on this project has been delayed by a lack of funding, bureaucratic obstacles and the opposition of the city's ultra-Orthodox population.

The bad

There is plenty of housing in Jerusalem, but not for Israelis. Apartment and land prices have skyrocketed in recent years to unprecedented levels, mainly due to a massive influx of foreign residents who cluster in the city's high-end and city center neighborhoods. According to property assessor Levy Yitzhak, between 2006 and mid-2008 apartment prices in Jerusalem shot up by 72%, compared to an average of 42.7% overall in the survey. Rental prices have risen by a similar figure, 74%, compared to an average of 61.5% for all 15 cities. An average 100 square-meter apartment in Jerusalem costs NIS NIS 1.5 million; a person earning an average salary would have to work 15.8 years to pay for it.

In the expensive neighborhoods, the prices are much higher, of course - up to NIS 10,000 per square meter, sometimes even more. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have the highest apartment prices, even though salaries in Jerusalem are below average for the survey.

The high price of housing in Jerusalem has affected population numbers in the city, as many have been forced to seek apartments elsewhere. The Knesset Economic Committee recently released a report indicating that in the past six years, 30,000 people have left the city - mostly young couples. TheMarker's survey found that only Be'er Sheva had worse population drain than the capital, as 0.87% of the capital's population left from 2004 to 2006. In 2007 there were 4,000 newcomers to Jerusalem, but 6,400 residents moved away.

Although much has been said about the need for affordable housing projects to keep young people in the city, little has been done so far. Neighborhoods that once predominantly housed young people and students, such as Talbieh and Rehavia, have begun to be bought up by foreign residents, making apartment prices inaccessible to locals.

Another population shift is the spread of ultra-Orthodox families into formerly secular areas, a process that sometimes leads to power struggles between the two groups. In Kiryat Yovel, Beit Hakerem and Malha, for example, veteran secular residents are facing off against ultra-Orthodox newcomers over the construction of religious institutions, like ritual baths.

The ugly
Of all the cities surveyed, Jerusalem's residents rank the lowest on the Central Bureau of Statistics' socioeconomic scale (the fourth cluster, out of ten). Monthly salaries average just NIS 5,647, compared to an average of NIS 6,653 overall, and are declining by about 0.3% a year.

Even though the ratio of unemployment benefit recipients is low, at 0.35%, compared to an average of 0.92% overall, the bureau's figures indicate that participation in the work force is also low, at just 44.7% in 2007, compared to a national average of 56.3%. Still, in recent years, more ultra-Orthodox, particularly women, have been taking professional training courses and joining the job market.

In the predominantly Arab parts of the city, which account for one third of Jerusalem's population, the situation is much worse, both in terms of employment opportunities and infrastructure. Many of Jerusalem's Arabs live in neighborhoods such as Kfar Akev, Umm-Tuba and the Shuafat refugee camp, which suffer from neglect, minimal services from the municipality, dilapidated water, sewage and road infrastructure and a lack of master urban plans for building homes and public buildings.

Throughout the capital, air pollution levels are quite high. The Ministry for Environmental Protection measured high concentrations of fine breathable particles that can affect the functioning of the heart and respiratory systems.

Another problem plaguing Jerusalem is the dirt and garbage along the city's streets, many of which the city has declared "private," thereby exempting itself from granting basic services, such as garbage collection, even though the residents pay municipal property taxes. Waste recycling is also very low  just 4%, compared to an average of 12.9% for all the cities surveyed.

Even so, Jerusalem was rated sixth in the quality of the environment index, thanks to being one of the few cities that conducted all the required water quality tests, and finding no irregularities. In addition, the city's Web site provides residents with significant information on the environment.

The level of secondary education in Jerusalem is the lowest of any of the 15 cities surveyed, mainly due to the low eligibility figures for matriculation certificates and the high dropout rate at the city's high schools. From 2003 to 2006 just 35.6% of Jerusalem's teens graduated, well below the 60.5% survey average, and the national average of 67%. The low matriculation figure can be traced to many of the capital's residents who attend ultra-Orthodox or Arab high schools, but do not apply for certificates.

Another problem facing the education system stems from the Haredization of the city. Public secular schools are closing due to a lack of students, and more and more ultra-Orthodox schools are opening in secular neighborhoods - attracting more ultra-Orthodox families.

Jerusalem's city hall also came in 15th in the financial index, and is the only city surveyed that is not defined as independent. The capital's municipal coffers receive balancing grants from the government to help them cover the cost of the basic services provided to local residents. Jerusalem also receives a "capital grant." In 2006 city hall received NIS 209 million in grants from the Finance Ministry.

Even though municipal revenues totaled NIS 3 billion in 2006, the city's accumulated deficit continued to rise, amounting to NIS 414.4 million that year. Jerusalem city hall's debts from loans are almost NIS 1.1 billion - more than any of the other cities surveyed - and 7.6% of the city's budget is spent repaying loans, compared to an average of 6.3% for all the cities surveyed. From 2004 to 2006 the city spent NIS 3,642 per resident annually - the lowest sum of any of the 15 cities surveyed, which average NIS 4,761.

No free parking

Jerusalem's light rail project, nicknamed the "blight rail project" by local residents, should have been completed by 2006, but has suffered repeated delays. At present, the first trains are due to start rolling by mid 2010, easing traffic congestion, but in the meantime the laying of the track often makes matters worse. Finding a free parking spot has also become a thing of the past, as parking meters or ticket machines have been installed throughout large areas of the city
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No light at the end
Amira Hass / Powerless in Gaza, residents rely on the tunnels.
Offensive strikes
Report: U.S. secretly attacked dozens of Mideast targets since 2004.
  1.   Imagine that, with so many haredim 06:15  |  Nathaniel 10/11/08
  2.   Jerusalem of Filth 06:56  |  Millicent 10/11/08
  3.   Average spending 09:48  |  JJ Burke 10/11/08
  4.   Israel has shown 12:59  |  Sophie Jones 10/11/08
  5.   Hatzilu 14:08  |  Concerned Yerushalmi 10/11/08
  6.   @sophie jones 15:18  |  Mark 10/11/08
  7.   Microcosm 15:54  |  Mr Ipp 10/11/08
  8.   Affordable Housing 16:05  |  MazalUK 10/11/08
  9.   Let`s hear it for the Yevseks! 16:15  |  Zev Davis 10/11/08
  10.   IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM ALL THROUGH ISRAELS CITIES 16:17  |  dav zee 10/11/08
  11.   Thanks haaretz 16:20  |  Dani 10/11/08
  12.   Jerusalem of filth 17:41  |  Christine Sakakibara 10/11/08
  13.   Dani is a self-hating Jew 17:45  |  Mohammed 10/11/08
  14.   Dave Zee, if it weren`t for the Haredim there wouldn`t be Israel 18:41  |  Dave 10/11/08
  15.   Arabs and Haredim can`t pick up garbage? 19:03  |  Secular Jew 10/11/08
  16.   #14 I Agree 19:15  |  Dan 10/11/08
  17.   Dave, you`re as wrong as you can get. 19:41  |  Gideon Gourell 10/11/08
  18.   JERUSALEM 20:48  |  Piccolo 10/11/08
  19.   Gideon, Ridiculous... 20:55  |  Dave 10/11/08
  20.   Something for Dani to do 21:09  |  JJ 10/11/08
  21.   Dave, re: haredim 23:18  |  Gideon 10/11/08
  22.   Uganda, anyone? 00:36  |  Zev Davis 11/11/08
  23.   To JJ 02:16  |  Dani 11/11/08
  24.   Piccolo, stop chepping and come on Aliyah 04:50  |  Zev Davis 11/11/08
  25.   Reply to Zev Davis 07:37  |  Piccolo 11/11/08
  26.   too many haredis in jerusalem 12:58  |  bobby 11/11/08
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