2016 Annual Assessment

Strengthen Jerusalem’s Jewish majority with measures that can be carried out separately or simultaneously.

Implement measures that narrow the balance of internal migration, such as job creation and the availability of affordable housing – especially for younger, recently graduated professionals (in the spirit of the recent June 2, 2016 government decision on the occasion of Jerusalem Day). We also recommend strengthening the image of Jerusalem as a safe, developing, pleasant and safe place to live.In parallel, the government should take steps to raise and ensure the quality of life of its non-Jewish citizens, especially in East Jerusalem. Non-Jewish Jerusalemites must be better integrated into the city’s social, economic, and cultural fabric in order to ensure peace and quiet.
Consider redrawing the municipal borders of Jerusalem either westward or eastward:
- Alternative A: Shifting the border westward by annexing existing Jewish residential areas;
- Alternative B: Narrowing the current northern and eastern municipal boundaries by moving the security barrier to exclude some Arab neighborhoods and villages on its eastern side. This could be done without altering Israel’s sovereign status over these areas. Any unilateral step that would remove tens of thousands of Arab residents from the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem would need to be implemented in a cautious manner, safeguarding employment status, welfare rights and the ability to maintain connections with relatives who will continue to reside within Jerusalem proper.

JPPI