Israel Doubles Discounted Housing Allocations for Ultra-Orthodox Sector
The current Israeli government, under Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, has doubled the allocation of discounted apartments in "Price Target" lotteries for the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) sector, which now receives about a quarter of all such apartments. This increase contrasts with previous governments, where Haredi areas received between 5% and 14% of discounted apartments, aligning with their population percentage.
In parallel, the government significantly increased allocations for reservists. Initially receiving 10% and later 20% of discounted apartments, reservists saw their share rise to approximately half of the allocations in April of this year, during an election campaign. This move occurred shortly after the Supreme Court admonished the state for distributing housing benefits to those evading military conscription, a group largely comprising young Haredi men.
The "Apartment at a Discount" program, which offers substantial savings on first-time home purchases, has distributed tens of thousands of apartments since its inception. While reservist housing allocations have been a feature since the outbreak of the recent conflict, the significant increase in Haredi allocations means they continue to receive more discounted apartments than reservists.
Despite Supreme Court directives in 2024 to cease government benefits for draft evaders, including discounted housing, subsequent lotteries have continued to allocate a substantial portion of apartments to Haredi neighborhoods. For instance, a June lottery saw about a third of discounted apartments go to Haredi areas, including thousands in Kiryat Gat, Beit Shemesh, and Rekhasim.
Arab communities, meanwhile, have been largely excluded from these lotteries, receiving only up to 7% of apartments, significantly less than their population share. The article questions the motivations behind these allocation shifts, particularly given the timing of the reservist increase during an election and following judicial intervention.
