Behind the Headlines Galilee Residents Cite Neglect

Settlers in nearly 100 settlements and a dozen urban centers in the Galilee region are becoming increasingly alarmed by what they term “growing neglect” and serious “governmental inaction” concerning future development of the area. This was relayed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency during a two day tour of the Galilee last week by Leon Dulzin, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives.

While some 600 families are currently waiting to establish themselves in planned settlements in Galilee and hundreds more in the region’s towns, the snail’s pace of development has made that option remote. The region is sorely lacking in permanent housing units, communications and service facilities and roods. Thousands of residents are increasingly frustrated in their struggle to maintain a high quality of life in the face of “governmental indifference.”

“It is time the government did for us what we did for them by coming here years ago,” one town council head complained. “By avoiding these very essential problems, it is making us unable to attract new settlers to the region.” He added that the Galilee’s potential for settlement should be one of the nation’s most vital concerns. He said the hilly, wild beauty of the region should be emphasized to potential settlers both in Israel and abroad.

The problem is compounded by the growing Arab population in the area. While the ratio of Jews to Arabs currently stands at 52-48 percent, one Housing Ministry official recently estimated that the government must build 7000 flats and settle 27,000 people a year in order to maintain that slim majority. The population rate increase among the Arabs more than doubles that of the Jews (3.8-1.7 percent). One regional leader remarked “Time is working against us. We will soon be facing the greatest demographic problem in the State’s history.”

In some cases this ratio has heightened tension between Jews and Arabs. In one settlement, power lines have been cut and the settlement’s only access road has been blocked. These signs of growing Arab claims to the land can only be halted by rapidly increasing Jewish settlement in the region, the settlers contend.

MANY PLANS FOR EXPANSION

Plans for expanded Jewish settlement exist in abundance. Thirty outposts manned by the Nahal Army Reservists are to be established by the end of this summer to protect State land from illegal settlement by local Arabs. In addition, another 26 new settlements are planned for the Segev, Tefen and Tsalmon districts.

The settlers contend, however, that funds are not forthcoming for the improvement of existing settlements. They fear that the pressure of time will force them into accepting less than originally planned. Earlier last month, Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon urged settlers of the Segev region to abandon their temporary living quarters and move immediately into trailers on their permanent settlement sites where permanent housing units are still lacking. Permanent housing, he said, could take up to 3-4 years to build and would cost some IL 250 million for each 100-family settlement.

Residents of the region feel the issue is largely a political one. They say that “each government always had other targets it wanted to develop.” While this government has proved more forthcoming than its predecessors on the issue of settlement, they are nevertheless wary of the new national emphasis on the Negev which they fear will further displace them on the list of national priorities.

Efforts have been mode to allay these fears. Three months ago, the Galilee Development Authority, a locally-based government body which coordinates projects in building, housing and immigrant absorption, convinced the government to form an eight-man ministerial committee on Galilee, the first in the nation’s history. It is too early to tell, however, how effective the committee, headed by Interior Minister Yosef Burg, will be.

DULZIN: GALILEE HAS BEEN LONG NEGLECTED

Dulzin’s trip to the region last week was largely an attempt to learn at first hand about the region’s problems. He said later that his increased awareness has given him a better foundation with which to press for action. “It is no secret that the Galilee has long been neglected,” Dulzin told the JTA. “The settlers there definitely deserve encouragement. attention and assistance.”

Noting that the Jewish Agency’s role in Galilee centered on settlement, absorption, education and quality of life, Dulzin said that if the proper channels are activate, “there is a concrete possibility that we could increase the population in the Galilee by 5000 families in one year.” He pledged to do all he could both here and abroad to improve the situation of the Galilee settlers.

Following his visit to the region, he decided to appoint and ad hoc committee on Galilee to draft a series of development plans and a coordinator responsible for keeping the Jewish Agency up to date on day-to-day developments in the region. The Galilee will receive further national and international attention this summer, when both the Histadrut and the WZO Executive convene there.

If the region is to flourish, assistance will have to be both comprehensive and systematic. As Baruch Wanger, chairman of the Galilee Settlements Council, observed: “The government must give us back our crown, which has been last in recent years. The Jewish Agency must complete what is lacking — to transmit our message to the Jews of the world and work for the development and enhancement of our region. A lack of activity now will generate stagnation at a time which may be our last chance to go forward.”