It is said that “good always cornes with bad.” This is the case in Israel in recent months as olim have been arriving here in large numbers, predominantly from Western countries. The difficulty in housing some 7,000 new immigrants who came here over the last six months accompanies the surge in aliya.
According to Ilan Rubin, deputy director general of the Jewish Agency’s aliya department, aliya is up over- all by 23 percent so far this year compared to last year. “The absorption centers are practically 100 percent full, taking into account the reserved places slated to be filled during the very near future by expected olim, ” Rubin said.
The housing problem is a recent one. It is a combination of the dramatic turn around in aliya during the first half of this year — aliya was up 50 percent from the West but the drop in the number of olim from the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries has tended to bring down the significance in the overall rise in the number of olim — and the fact that approximately 20 absorption centers were closed for the last three years because there was no need for such facilities while relatively few immigrants arrived here.
“The closed centers along the periphery of the country, such as those in Dimona and Maalot, which might possibly be reopened, are unattractive to olim and therefore do not help us,” said Rubin. “The absorption centers belong to the Ministry of Housing. When they were not being filled, the ministry demanded them back and now they are being used for other purposes, such as student housing centers, residential flats and other forms of public housing.”
Rubin noted that in Kiryat Shemona, the absorption center was placed under the army’s jurisdiction. As a result, these buildings are no longer available to be reverted back into absorption centers.
Rubin explained that since Jewish Agency funds are “too tight to be able to invest in building, ” that is not an option. Another situation which exacerbates the shortage of space in absorption centers is the shortage of low rental public housing.
“Olim are supposed to leave the absorption centers after six months– which is the approximate amount of time it takes to absorb them,” Rubin said. “By then many have found work and have completed the ulpan (Hebrew study). But the number of olim leaving after six months has decreased because public housing is not readily available.”
THE ISSUE OF RENTS
Presently, the average stay in an absorption center is one year. A small percentage of olim have even stayed as long as two years. In addition to the shortage of housing, some olim remain because it is so inexpensive to live in any of the immigrant housing centers.
A family of four, in a three-room apartment in an absorption center pays close to nothing,” a mere token”, as Rubin put it. After that, if no member of the family has found work during the next six months rent amounts to $30 a month. If one family member has found work, rent increases to $100 a month or 25 percent of the incoming salary, depending on which is lower.
Temporary hostels, which are absorption centers which do not include Hebrew courses for their occupants are slightly more expensive. Rent starts at the beginning of the immigrant’s stay — comparable to a non-employed family’s costs in an absorption center during the second six-month period of their stay. After three months in a hostel, employed occupants are obligated to pay 25 percent of their salaries toward rent.
Permanent residences for olim also exist. There are 3500 places available and they are filled to capacity, not to mention the extensive waiting list which accompanies this option. Olim pay a modest rent and are entitled to remain in these apartments for an indefinite period of time. In addition, they are permitted to bring spouses into the apartments, only after they have children are they expected to move.
72 CENTERS AVAILABLE TO OLIM
In all, there are 72 centers available to olim, 30 absorption centers, 11 hostels, and 31 permanent residences. The budget alloted to operating these facilities is $20 million a year. This money covers staff salaries in the facilities, such as ulpan teachers (where applicable), maintenance, rental costs and utilities.
The aliya department has indicated the need for increased housing facilities to the Housing Ministry. This request came after the aliya department raised the rents of olim who remain in centers and are employed. The Housing Ministry, headed by Deputy Prime Minister David Levy, would rather olim purchased apartments with the aid of extensive loans, rather than living in public housing, Rubin explained.
The problem with this idea is that a gap still exists between the loans provided and the amount of capital the immigrant must supply, Rubin said. In addition, interest costs run approximately $200 a month on a full-scale loan.
“There are around 1,000 unsold apartments in Jerusalem which will eventually be turned over to the government because they cannot be sold by private builders,” Rubin said. “These could be reverted into public housing units. In addition, we suggested that olim pay a higher rate than the welfare recipients who are also entitled to this housing.”
KOTLOWITZ PREDICTS 13,000 OLIM BY YEAR’S END
Meanwhile, Rafael Kotlowitz, head of the WZO immigration and absorption department, predicted that some 13,000 immigrants from the West are expected to arrive in Israel by the end of the year, a record high since 1974. But he warned that without proper housing, immigration might once again decline.
In addition to the overcrowded conditions in the absorption centers and other transition institutions, Kotlowitz noted that because of pressure on aliya offices overseas, potential immigrants sometimes must wait up to two weeks before they can be seen by aliya officials.
According to Kotlowitz, the breakdown in immigration from the West this year will be: North America, 4,200; Latin America, 3,800; France, 2,300; United Kingdom, 1,500; and another 1,700 from other Western countries. Kotlowitz said he also expected some 5,000 immigrants from the East bloc and Third World countries, 1,900 from Rumania, 500 from the Soviet Union, and 1,500 from Africa.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
