The theater of the absurd is here.
Despite the fact that Kiryat Shmona is in the far northern periphery, and is considered one of the cities most exposed to missiles from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Knesset still did not see fit to amend the law that prevents housing benefits for those who settle there.
This is a law to encourage capital investments, which currently does not define Kiryat Shmona as a priority area A for residences, as it is defined in terms of industry.
The current situation, naturally, keeps entrepreneurs away from the settlement, including urban renewal entrepreneurs - specifically in a city whose geographical location is prone to disaster in terms of an earthquake scenario.
In fact, two things were "forgotten" in the law regarding the city in question;
The fact that this is a settlement near a fence to Hezbollah, and the second thing is that it is a settlement with a low socio-economic level, but because it does not include Arabs or ultra-Orthodox, this is not reflected in the socio-economic cross-section in a clear way.
The "oblivion" of Kiryat Shmona from behind came to the surface following the appeal of the young entrepreneurs Barzilai Group and Gilad Mor, who are currently involved in a pioneering project, the first of its kind in Israel - student dormitories for Tel Hai College based on the Co Living model.
As mentioned, this is an innovative project that combines 316 small apartments adapted for young people alongside essential services such as shared study spaces, culture, leisure and performances.
It should be noted that the land was purchased by the group and was not given as a benefit or grant for the project.
In a letter to the Ministry of Economy, the developers wrote: "Our project, which is located in the city center, has not yet been approved by the authority.
Kiryat Shmona is ranked 102nd in the ranking of local authorities in Israel.
The city is neglected, and no urban renewal project has yet been done there.
Our project is the first to be done in the city, during which a building that was defined as an 'open wound in the heart of the city' was destroyed and in its place a modern and invested building was built that will bring new blood and energy to the area.'
The reason why the application is pending is a limitation in the law to encourage capital investments of student rents up to NIS 900 only.
The Mayor of Kiryat Shmona, Avihai Stern, also commented on the flaw in the law: "We call on the Ministry of Economy and the Government of Israel to bring about an immediate and swift amendment of the law and to bring the settlements of the geographic periphery into priority area A also in the area of residence. One of the results of this is that urban renewal entrepreneurs, who take They are taking a big risk anyway, they are not receiving the government benefits as the legislator intended. This is an absurd situation that joins a series of omissions and gaps that currently do not allow urban renewal in the geographic periphery of Israel, which needs it more than anything due to its location on active seismic lines."
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