8/6/2019 Maariv Jul18-11 [Ben Caspit to Housing Price Protesters -- It's the Settlements, Stupid!]

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Land of choice

Ben Caspit, Maariv [front-page], July 18 2011

Lets assume, for the purpose of discussion, that we are not taking a position on the question of settlements.

A small part of the Israeli public believes that we should leave all the settlements in place, and an even smaller

portion of the public thinks that all the settlements should be evacuated (and the sooner the better), while themajority lies somewhere in the middle. But that is irrelevant.

What is relevant is the amount that has been invested in the settlements until today. This refers to tens of

billions of dollars, if not more. For decades, Israel has been investing astronomical, imaginary, inconceivable

amounts (relative to our size) in the construction boom in the settlements: the wholesale purchase of lands,

infrastructure, accelerated construction, marketing at low prices (sometimes lower than the cost price) and of

course, an extremely expensive road infrastructure that leads to places in which, ultimately, there is an

excellent chance that we will be compelled not to be. Some think that the governments over the generations

did this deliberately. That they created a housing crisis in central Israel and in the periphery in order to create

a situation in which Israelis will be compelled to live in the territories and will find themselves as unwilling

settlers. Let us, for the purpose of the discussion, disregard this argument as well.

Let us focus only on the money. Imagine that this entire monstrous investment in the territories (which

Netanyahu also knows that a large portion of which will not remain in our hands forever, and has said so)

had not been made. That Israel had not lied to itself and had preferred to divert these huge sums to

investment within the state. Within the borders of its recognized sovereignty. It can be stated, almost with

certainty, that if this money had gone to infrastructure in the periphery, in the Negev, in the Galilee, if it had

gone to young couples, if it had gone to adding jobs and creating a serious quantity of affordable housing,

then today every young couple would own one apartment for the winter and another for the summer, and

both would be at a reasonable, affordable price.

This is what most economists you ask will tell you. This is the reality.

Therefore, we talk about the housing crisis, about the intolerable situation in which it is impossible to afford

an apartment in this country, about the reality in which a young couple needs wealthy parents, a lottery prize,

a return to the faith (and move to Itamar) or a miracle to afford its own apartmentwhen we talk about all

this, we should remember the choice that Israel made. A choice that we try to evade, ignore, look aside when

it stares at us from the mirror, but to no avail. The choice between channeling national resources within the

country, to channeling them into the disputed territories over the Green Line. And once again, without

deciding the debate between right wing and left wing, this empirical fact is clear and undisputable: Those who

invest their finest resources there, in Judea and Samaria (and the late Gush Katif, and the Golan Heights too),

remain without resources here (in central, northern and southern Israel, in the periphery). That is all.

We have not yet mentioned this issue since the housing protest broke out. Perhaps justifiably. For the

protestors know that as soon as this becomes part of the agenda, the story will become political instead of

social, and this is undesirable, because at that moment a large part of its energies will dissipate. If I were

giving advice to this struggle, I would tell them not to touch it. To leave the settlements alone, and not to

drive Miri Regev out of Rothschild Boulevard. But the fact that one does not talk about something, does not

mean that it doesnt exist. Because at the end of the day, you cant have it both ways. Gluttony usually ends

with an upset and aching stomach, and sometimes worse. That is the situation we are now in.