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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Jerusalem Municipal Strike Ends

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Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has said the city is suspending the 3 day strike it declared on Sunday. The decision follows the phone conversation between the PM and the Mayor. Netanayhu invited Barkat to address the cabinet on Sunday, when it holds its next weekly meeting. He promised Barkat he would be personally involved in resolving the disagreements between the city and the Treasury.

Since Sunday morning, all major municipal services such as education and sanitation have been severely disrupted. The streets are full of uncollected garbage, constituting a potential health hazard. The Light Rail service has been impacted, as piles of rubbish have blocked the rails.  

Mayor Nir Barkat ordered city employees to strike in protest over what he calls “the Treasury’s failure to make good on its commitments to increase funding for the city.” The city claims the Treasury has been sitting on the NIS 800 million promised to the municipality five months ago. 

The budget requested by Jerusalem aims at especially support the education system, the severe shortage of classrooms and the financing of after-school programs. Further delay to come to an agreement also risk triggering the layoffs of numerous workers and a cut in the city’s support for cultural institutions, sports, welfare and education.

Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat sharply criticized Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, arguing that the city was facing a serious crisis that could lead to a financial implosion, leaving the city’s almost 900,000 residents without municipal services.  

“Fifty years after after the reunification of the city, and while Israel’s enemies are trying to weaken the status of Jerusalem, to stop its building projects, development and success and thwart the transition to the US Embassy, we expect the Ministry of Finance to immediately implement its promises to the city, and to stop stonewalling and the pathetic excuses”, said Mayor Nir Barkat,

The Treasury claims the promises were conditional on the city increasing its property tax (Arnona) collection rate, which it has not done. The municipality denies having made such an undertaking.   

Jerusalem has one of the county’s lowest collection rates. Over half its residents are either Arabs or ultra-Orthodox. These two groups are the country’s two lowest earning groups, which means that a large percentage of households are exempt from arnona because they are welfare cases.  

The Interior Ministry claims the city’s problems are due primarily to mismanagement, and is threatening to put the city’s finances under the control of a ministry appointed Treasurer.

By: Yoni Ariel
(TPS)

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