Dulzin Says 15 More Project Renewal Neighborhoods Will Be Completed Next Year

The rehabilitation of 15 more Project Renewal neighborhoods will be completed next year, according to Leon Dulzin, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives. He also told the weekly meeting of the Agency Executive today that another 30 neighborhoods will be rehabilitated within two or three years. Dulzin stated that considerable progress could already be noticed in the Project Renewals undertaking to rehabilitate 84 deteriorated neighborhoods, housing 600,000 residents.

He said the main problem now was to determine who would be responsible for the Project after the Jewish Agency fulfills its role as a partner with the government in the Project. Under the Agency/government agreement, the government takes care of the physical elements of renewal and the Agency is responsible for the social welfare aspects.

In a recent sharp exchange between Dulzin and Finance Minister Yoram Aridor over the funding of Project Renewal, Aridor reportedly accused Dulzin and Jewish Agency treasurer Akiva Levinsky of failing to meet the commitments they undertook as equal partners in the Project.

Aridor claimed that a contribution of $5 million, promised by the Agency five months ago for the rehabilitation of 13 slum neighborhoods, has not yet been transmitted to the government. Dulzin said that he did promise Deputy Premier David Levy, at the time, that the Agency would allocate to Project Renewal another $5 million above the Agency’s original commitment.

However, Dulzin added, this could not be done because the Treasury refused to allow the sale of $22 million worth of Israel Bonds for the benefit of the Jewish Agency. He added that Aridor was the first Finance Minister to ban the sale of Israel Bonds for Agency purposes.

Dulzin described similar charges by Levy — that the Jewish Agency did not abide by its commitments –as a “tempest in a teapot.” Levy retorted there was no connection between the dispute over the Israel Bonds sale and the Agency’s $5 million promise. Levy said the government wanted to invest this year some $90 million in Project Renewal and that the Agency should allocate $60 million toward that goal.