"These guys hold the answers which could solve the problems for world peace posed by the New World Disorder..."
Posted on 04/17/2005 5:52:22 AM PDT by SJackson
The only authority to pay any attention to the holy city, as far as investing in its future, was the British Empire.
The most logical conclusion from the Jerusalem Conference held on Monday was that the government of Israel should ask her majesty the queen if she'll be willing to once again oversee our capital city and take it under her royal patronage.
As it turns out, the only authority to pay any attention to the holy city, as far as investing in its future, was the British Empire, which in some 31 years managed to set the foundations for the modernization of Jerusalem, doing a much better job than the Zionist state did in almost double that time.
Apparently, the last ordinance plan for Jerusalem was drawn in 1959 and was little more than a modification of the outline scheme presented by British engineer Candle as early as 1944. That is to say that during all the years since, the capital city rapidly developed with almost no early planning and without clear outlines. Israel's largest city, simply grew by developing one patch over another.
It is not a coincidence, therefore, that the list of permitted industry in Jerusalem today includes lumber, pig farming, institutions for poultry slaughtering and feather plucking, and ice manufacturing.
SPEAKERS AT the conference said that they identify now a window of opportunity for change. They noted that the improving security situation, the return of tourism, economic recovery and political willingness to invest more in Jerusalem set the foundations for rehabilitating the capital.
The problem, however, is that as much as we wish we could share this optimism, we have little reason to do so. Statistics presented at the gathering indicate that by the year 2020 some 40 percent of the capital's population will be non-Jewish and it can be safely assumed that the trends of negative migration, mainly of youngsters, will continue in coming years. This will turn Jerusalem into an even poorer city than it already is, with 45% of its families living below the poverty line.
Municipality officials took great pride in the fact that Jerusalem has the highest rate of students in Israel, but forgot to mention that 70% of them live outside the city. Moreover, of those who gradate from Jerusalem-based academic institutions only 10% live here afterwards.
It is easy to blame the intifada, poverty, haredim and others for the city's econominc miseries, but the truth is that the only solution to Jerusalem's future is employment. The migration of young Jerusalemites to the center of Israel might indeed be accelerated by a shortage of entertainment venues, religious tensions and high housing prices but they are not the primary reasons.
As long as Jerusalem continues to fail to provide rewarding jobs within its jurisdiction and does little to attract businesses, the reality will not change no matter how much money the government allocates to the municipality. A quarter of a million Jews have already left the city since its unification in 1967 and it can be safely assumed that these figures will rapidly increase in coming years.
THE RECOVERY of the tourism industry provides Jerusalem with an excellent opportunity to leverage its economic position. But in order to do so it needs to change its mindset. As Tourism Ministry Director-General Eli Cohen rightly noted, the municipality and domestic hotel industry are not doing enough to encourage visitors to come explore the holy city's treasures.
A city council which makes little effort to keep the Old City clean can not expect to attract tourists, Cohen told the conference gatherers. "We can't continue with this situation," he said. "The municipality must make a decision whether or not [it wants] to encourage tourism to Jerusalem."
The 34-year-old director-general went on to say that the "red tape at city hall is killing the tourism industry." He added that while Tel Aviv is making every effort to host public events, the municipality of Jerusalem is doing nothing but creating obstacles. "It is about time that they stop using anti-tourist spray in Jerusalem and start welcoming tourists," he concluded.
While Cohen's criticism might be a little too harsh – the municipality is not the only one to blame – the bottom line is clear. Jerusalem has many reasons for its difficulties but it is about time that its leaders stop blaming others and start actively changing the situation.
They should start by creating a much more business friendly environment as they need to realize that spiritual virtues are not enough to attract firms to the capital. A change in the city's mindset may not solve all problems but will help Jerusalem lose the infamous title of Israel's poorest city.
Apparently, the last ordinance plan for Jerusalem was drawn in 1959 and was little more than a modification of the outline scheme presented by British engineer Candle as early as 1944.
That anyone can write an article essentially blaming Israel for an "underdeveloped" Jerusalem and cite events in 1944 and 1959 is amazing. Seems to me a very positive development from the perspective of attracting business would be a convincing statement that Jerusalem, all of it, is an eternal, non-negotiable part of Israel. Maybe GWB would fulfill multiple campaign promises and move our Embassy there if he knew it would stay part of Israel.
"These guys hold the answers which could solve the problems for world peace posed by the New World Disorder..."
Lost British Empire ping.
There should not be pig farming or the sale of pork in the Jewish holy city!
" We could build this very large badger..."
ping
I think Tom Clancy in one of his novels put forth the idea of getting the neutral Swiss army, with help from the Vatican, to patrol Jerusalem.
Novels are fun, but Jerusalem is part of Israel. The Swiss won't be patroling there, and I doubt they want any part of Rafah.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply (somehow) that Jerusalem was not part of Israel, I was merely pointing out that an idea like this had been mentioned before. I made it perfectly clear the idea had been in a NOVEL. At no point did I endorse this idea.
Relax.
Right now, I don't trust the British to solve their own royal marital problems. Of course it is kind of nice to have a royal family to make fun of...
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