Israel’s housing lottery, Price for the Resident, is once again holding drawings, and critics say the state is spending huge sums to help only a few thousand winners buy homes at deep discounts. The article says the benefit has already cost taxpayers 50 billion shekels, more than most government ministry budgets. It argues the program did not create new housing supply, but instead pushed more people into demand, which helped raise prices for everyone else.
The writer says the real solution to the housing crisis is easier and cheaper: build up in central Israel, speed urban renewal in places such as Holon, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, South Tel Aviv and Givatayim, and invest more in long-term rental housing. It says the Gush Dan area is not especially dense by global standards, citing the Taub Center, and claims that greater density would also help transportation and make public transit more viable.
A separate commentary section focuses on disclosure around companies that sell goods into Gaza. It says the recent jump in Victory supermarket chain results was partly driven by sales to Gaza, information revealed only after intervention by the Israel Securities Authority. The article criticizes what it describes as a state-company silence, and says the Customs Authority’s decision to keep the list of firms selling to Gaza secret under a “confidentiality obligation” protects company share prices and political calm rather than national security.
Another section warns that Israel is moving too slowly on gas exploration even as electricity demand is expected to rise sharply. The Tamar and Leviathan fields have recently increased production by tens of percent, but the article says that without new discoveries, reserves could run down within about 20 years and Israel may again need to import gas. It notes that meaningful exploration has stalled since Energean found small fields in 2022, that NewMed’s exploration license was taken in March 2025, and that its seismic ship is only expected in September. A second group led by Ratio has also been delayed after Eni withdrew in October 2025, and a new competitive tender announced in February has been held up by the war with Iran. Energy Minister Eli Cohen says it will happen “in the coming weeks.”
