News
Political leaders blame each other following damning housing report
Israel’s State Comptroller Joseph Shapira published a highly critical report yesterday on the country’s housing market, prompting political leaders to point the finger of blame at their rivals just three weeks ahead of the general election.
The 294-page report warned that the housing crisis could have a devastating impact on the middle class and the overall economy. It detailed a 55 per cent rise in house prices from 2008 to 2013 and a 30 per cent increase in rent prices during the same period. Shapira’s report also said that Israelis need 148 monthly salaries to buy a home, compared to 64 in Britain.
The report broadly blamed poor government planning and a lack of housing units. In particular, it said that Ehud Olmert’s government before 2009 “did not identify this trend as a danger that demanded unique handling.” The State Comptroller also levelled criticism at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “Only in July 2010, more than a year after its establishment, did the 32nd government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, identify the need to curb the sharp rise in housing prices” and that prices continued to rise in 2011 and 2012. Although the report doesn’t cover the full period of the most recent government, it decries that long-term housing policy “has not yet been implemented.”
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said the report exposed “Netanyahu’s years of failure and neglect in handling housing problems in Israel.” However, Likud MK Miri Regev noted that Lapid was “chairman of the housing cabinet. Take responsibility.” Netanyahu himself commented, “We are taking this important report seriously … We did a lot … but we still have a lot to do.” Meanwhile, Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog said the report exposed Netanyahu’s failure and that he is the person to “lead the battle to solve the housing crisis.” Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon, campaigning as a socio-economic champion took a broad swipe at the report’s “failing grade to the Netanyahu-Lapid-[Jewish Home leader Naftali] Bennett high cost of living government.”