“What will become of the housing market?” I asked Uri Ariel, betraying my worries about my daughter and  son-in-law living in a chicken-coop-turned-apartment on a moshav.

Ariel told me about his plan to create a special cabinet whose job will be to promote the construction of rental apartments in every possible place throughout the country, thus flooding the market with rental units.  But I’m worried.  Experience shows that good people’s good ideas ultimately end up in the hands of less good people.  Ariel won’t be the housing and construction minister forever, after all.

“When your plan meets the marketplace,” I asked him, “who can guarantee that it will follow the rules that you and your associates set for it?  Why not have the state do the construction, so at least that part will stay in the hands of the government?”

“Because it’s been shown that when the state builds, it ends up costing more.”

“Why?  Because of the shenanigans?  Because of the bureaucracy?”

Uri didn’t go into details and he is not about to come out against those employed by his ministry.  In any event, he and others who know the subject firsthand agree that if the state builds, it costs more.

“But when the construction tenders start being issued,” I asked, “how can you keep the usual suspects from entering bids and making illicit gains off of taxpayers’ backs, as happened in the past?”

Uri explains that this time, such people will be treated as criminals.

Right … but we’ve been down this road before.  Take these two examples:

In the early seventies, a large rental project in the French Hill section of Jerusalem got off the ground.  The state sold the land at a good price to some kindly disposed Jews from the U.S., after convincing them to invest their money in the construction of high-quality rental units.  The state promised them that the units would yield a reasonable amount of rental income.  Yet for some reason—to this day no one seems to know why—the foreign investors found that no one was coming to rent their apartments.  There was no demand.

But that wasn’t the end of it.  The investors had to go find a buyer for their property.  A certain Jerusalemite who was famed as a theoretical communist and a practical capitalist was offered an opportunity to buy the apartments by a friend of his—a senior bureaucrat at the Ministry of Construction and Housing.

“But I don’t have the money!”

“Don’t worry.  We’ll see to it that you get a good loan.”

The ministry contacted a bank, recommending that it extend a loan to that Jerusalemite in exchange for a lien on the property.

Pay day came quickly enough.  Thanks to his contacts, the Housing Ministry made a gesture that it had not been kind enough to extend to the previous investors.  He was given permission to sell the apartments on the open market.  And suddenly there were buyers.

Greed doesn’t discriminate between political stripes, though.  Here’s a parallel case from the right:

In a settlement in Judea, adjacent to the Green Line, the government held a lottery for parcels of land on which to construct homes.  Those young couples that did not win lots were told just to wait a bit: soon there would be a tender for contractors to build denser housing, and they would be able to get a home for 900,000 NIS.

The price quoted was sensible, taking into account the low cost that the contractors paid for the land, development and construction costs, and a nice profit for the contractors.  But the young couples are still waiting.  Better-off people are living in those apartments.  Once the contractors (including one of “our” public corporations) received the land at a bargain basement price, without so much as a government tender, they took one look at the housing shortage, moved the prices up to 1.8 million NIS, and pocketed one million NIS per apartment: profit of one hundred percent.

Where were the regulators?  At best, they fell asleep on the job.  The land was sold at a pittance for the benefit of the public.  Their job was to impose reasonable limits on the prices.  Yet at the end of the day, three hundred seventy apartments were built at a profit of 370 million NIS.  The contractors made their personal fortune at the taxpayers’ expense.

So who can guarantee that once Uri Ariel has left the ministry, these shenanigans won’t return?  There is no guarantee.  Quite the opposite: it is reasonable to assume that there always will be business people and politicians who know how to game the system.  You can’t trust business people as a group, because they always want to maximize their profits.

To counter this dynamic, the public needs new, idealistic forces both inside and outside the establishment.  The public has to understand that it needs to take action on economic matters the same way it takes action on settling Judea and Samaria—a key political truth that the young social protesters of two summers ago understood well.

Aside from distributing the ethical work Mesilat Yesharim to contractors, here are some recommendations for the minister of housing and construction to consider:

– Build a no-nonsense regulatory force to supervise construction together with an no-nonsense legal department.

– Encourage the establishment of public bodies and associations to keep tabs on what is happening—preferably in every government ministry, but certainly in the Construction Ministry as it embarks on the major undertaking that Ariel and his cabinet are planning.

– Encourage the creation of institutes for the grooming of ethical government officials who see their work as a mission.  (There is one such institute named for Ido Zoldan, which was founded by his father, Nachman.)

– Encourage the activity of institutes of economic ethics, such as the one at the Jerusalem College of Technology (Mechon Lev).

If all these ideas are successfully pursued, then there will be no need for legislation against excessive concentration of economic power.  And it won’t hurt to add a prayer to God that all those involved be individuals of absolute integrity.  And where will we find them?  As Rabbi Maimoun said to Ben Gurion: For a little money, you can even find individuals of absolute integrity.

Originally published in Makor Rishon, May 17th, 2013. Translated from Hebrew by David B. Greenberg.

לְבָרֵךְ

Filmed Friday, May 17, 2013. Visit Ktzat Ivrit.

Ziontours booked a trip to the top of the standings in the All Star Israel Softball League, circumnavigating the bases and playing great defense non-stop, to earn a pair of wins.

“We’ve turned on the jets and we’re flying high, I give props to the whole crew,” said Ziontours captain Benjy Berg. “There’s nothing plain about us.  We’ve got a well thought out itinerary and a brilliant flight plan – but sometimes,you just gotta’ wing it.”

Ziontours’ first win was a 9-7 duel with Shmikumaku, while the second came in a 5-4 nailbiter over Kluggers Sluggers. The Sluggers took the other half of a twinbill, this time facing Wolmark, 13-4, while Shikumaku bounced back with a 13-9 win over Pizza Larry.

In other games, Lakewood Heimeshe Bake Shoppe turned on their offense, with a 17-2 win over Ossie’s Fish. The Lobos Blue Jays defeated Rent A Cell Rollers 14-3, with Lobos captain Nussi Jacobovitch crushing the first pitch over the center field wall.  Kinley and Pizza Larry put on a defensive clinic, in a pristine 3-1 Kinley victory. Kinley followed up with an encore victory over Janglo, 20-3, while Jerry’s Kids rounded out the action with a 9-2 win over Glenlivets.

Originally published at the Gatestone Institute.

As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pursues efforts to resume peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the world’s leading Islamic scholar of the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, arrived in the Gaza Strip to express support for Hamas.

The Egyptian-born al-Qaradawi, who has in the past justified suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, came to the Gaza Strip at the head of a delegation consisting of some 50 senior Islamic figures from 14 countries.

The high-profile visit is seen as a major victory for Hamas and its supporters and a severe blow for Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and his “moderate” Fatah faction.

Al-Qaradawi, who heads the International Union of Muslim Scholars, came to the Gaza Strip to urge Palestinians to continue the struggle against Israel.

During his visit, al-Qaradawi also urged Palestinians not to give up one inch of land to non-Muslims. He also warned against making any concessions on the “right of return” of millions of Palestinians to their pre-1948 villages and towns inside Israel. “Palestine was never Jewish,” the 86-year-old sheikh told Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. “Palestine has always been Arab and Islamic.”

Although al-Qaradawi did not mention Abbas, his comments were seen as directed against the Palestinian Authority president’s readiness to engage in peace talks with Israel.

When someone as senior and influential as al-Qaradawi tells Palestinians that it is forbidden to make concessions to Israel, he is sending a warning message to Abbas and other Arabs that jihad [holy war], and not negotiations, are the “only way to restore our rights.”

Although the Palestinian Authority had called on its supporters in the Gaza Strip to boycott al-Qaradawi, thousands of Palestinians turned out to give him a hero’s welcome.

His anti-Semitic remarks and support for suicide attacks have earned al-Qaradawi the respect and admiration of many Palestinians, especially those who seek to destroy Israel.

Had the Muslim Brotherhood’s al-Qaradawi visited the Gaza Strip to urge Palestinians to recognize Israel’s right to exist, he would have been received with shoes and rotten eggs.

But al-Qaradawi is a hero in the eyes of many Palestinians and Muslims because he views Jews as the “enemies of Islam and treacherous aggressors.”

In a January 2009 sermon, al-Qaradawi prayed [according to a translation by MEMRI] that “Allah take this oppressive, Jewish Zionist band of people. Oh Allah, do not spare a single one of them. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one.”

Al-Qaradawi’s visit has further bolstered Hamas’s standing, enabling it to tighten its grip over the 1.5 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the visit has granted legitimacy to Hamas’s rule in the Gaza Strip and turned it, in the Arab and Islamic countries, into an acceptable Islamic party.

But more importantly, al-Qaradawi’s visit and statements also serve as a reminder that the Israeli-Arab conflict is centered, more than ever, around religion. The sheikh’s message to the Palestinians and Muslims is that this is a religious conflict and not a political issue.

This is an unequivocal message that stresses that no Muslim is entitled to give up Muslim-owned land to non-Muslims. As far as al-Qaradawi, Hamas and their followers are concerned, the conflict is not about a settlement or a checkpoint. Rather, it is about Israel’s presence — its right to exist at all — in the Middle East.

Originally published at the Gatestone Institute.

Word arrived that boatloads of new Jewish immigrants from Russia were arriving in Jaffa. Rumors spread that a wave of bloody pogroms were causing thousands of Jews to flee from their homes. Every settler was anxious to learn which villages had been attacked. Everyone had friends and relatives in Russia, and, of course, all of the settlers were worried about their fate. Not only was the Czar’s empire in turmoil, all of Europe was quaking in the throes of a cataclysmic war. As if overnight, enlightened, “civilized” Germany had become a raging, bloodthirsty beast. At least for the moment, the remote Turkish province of Palestine was far away from the conflict.

More often than not, the Turkish authorities refused to grant permission to allow the boatloads of immigrants to disembark. Many Jews had to sail back to Russia or Italy. Others journeyed on to Egypt. The fortunate and the brave either swam, or were secretly ferried ashore along the desolate Mediterranean coastline. Among the Jews who received legal papers, and among those who didn’t, a trickle found their way to Olat HaShachar.

With all of the building on the settlement, and with the success of their first two harvests, a decision had to be made. To keep up with the rate of development and expansion, more workers were needed. If the pioneers of Olat HaShachar truly wanted to conquer the land, they first had to conquer the workload. Presently there were not enough hands. Acres and acres of farmable land lay untouched. Sand dunes waited to be leveled and turned into vineyards. Barren wasteland waited to be transformed into pastures. The possibilities for growth were endless, but many more workers were needed.

One afternoon, a group of thirty young Jews marched into the colony. None had beards, and many didn’t even wear caps. Their backpacks were filled with apples, bread, blankets, and coconut oil, which some used for cooking and others for protecting their skin in the sun. They were led by a distinguished gentleman named Dr. Arthur Ruppin. He explained that the new immigrants had all joined his workers’ union, which he fittingly called “The Workers of Zion.” The goal of the movement was to unite all of the Jewish labor in Palestine, secure favorable terms for the workers, and thus make the Jews of the land independent, without having to depend on Arab labor to survive. Ruppin told Shimon, Tevye, Elisha, and a crowd of curious settlers, that the worker’s union was willing to hire out the laborers to the colony for minimal wages and board.

While the veteran pioneers gathered around the new immigrants to learn what was happening in Russia, Shimon took Tevye and a small group of other settlement leaders aside.

“This is a godsend,” Shimon said. “We’ve been desperate for workers for months.”

“Now we can get rid of the Arabs we hired to work in the fields,” Elisha added.

“Hiring these Jews will surely cost us much more,” Baruch said. He was Shimon’s right-hand man, in charge of the administration of the colony.

“Not according to this Ruppin,” Shimon answered.

“It’s too good to be true,” Tevye said.

The others all turned to him.

“What do you mean?” Shimon said.

“I thank the good Lord for every Jew who steps foot in the Land of Israel. But, I am sorry to say, I don’t see any rabbis among them.”

“Tevye’s right,” Sharagi agreed. “Do we want so many free-thinkers living in Olat HaShachar? They nearly outnumber us.”

“They will only be hired workers,” Shimon answered. “They won’t have a say in how we run the yishuv, nor a vote in our general assemblies.”

“Even if they don’t have a vote, their presence is sure to be a dangerous influence,” Tevye said. “I’ve raised seven daughters, and I know the pitfalls of exposing young minds to their godless ideas. Thank the good Lord, all of my daughters are married, but there are others who could be courting disaster.”

The others were momentarily silent. Elisha realized the reality of the problem. He still had three unmarried daughters and half a minyan of young, impressionable sons. Everyone turned toward Nachman.

“First we have to look at the new arrivals as our beloved Jewish brothers,” he said. “Their desire to join us in rebuilding our land is a wonderful thing. By being here, they will be exposed to the treasures of Judaism and the beauty of the Torah. As the great Sage, Hillel, taught us – we should be like the disciples of Aharon, loving our brethren and bringing them closer to Torah. At the same time, we have to be careful to put a guarding fence around our sacred beliefs, as Reb Tevye has rightly observed.”

On Shavuot, which Jews celebrated yesterday (and which is still being celebrated by Jews outside of Israel today) the Jewish people traditionally read the Book of Ruth. According to various Jewish sages, this is done because (a) the holiday of Shavuot falls in the harvest season and a great part of the story of Ruth took place during the barley harvest; (b) King David was one of Ruth’s descendants and King David’s birthday and death date both fall on Shavuot; and (c) because Ruth was an excellent model for all righteous converts to Judaism, and during the Mount Sinai event the people of Israel experience a similar rebirth as they transform from a people composed of freed slaves into the Nation of Israel in a covenant with God.

The Ruth story demonstrates how all Jews should treat the strangers among us. The righteous Boaz looked out for Ruth, even though she was of foreign origin and was part of the Moabite nation that didn’t have such a pleasant history with the Israeli nation. Boaz’s behavior demonstrates how Jewish ethics teach us that we should always look out for the unfortunate, regardless which nation they are part of and what our history is with that nation.

Excellent contemporary examples of Israel living by this principle include an Israeli hospital looking after a disabled Palestinian baby who has been abandoned by his parents, Israel providing medical treatment for Iraqi children with heart problems, Israeli soldiers assisting a Palestinian child who was injured by a Palestinian rock thrower, Israel offering medical assistance to a Sudanese woman, and Israel treating Syrians who were wounded as Assad kills his own people. Israel continues to provide Palestinians, Iraqis, Sudanese people, and other members of enemy nations the chance to receive medical treatment in Israel due to our understanding of Jewish ethics and values.

Another important lesson that the story of Ruth offers is a guide for how non-Jews can become Jewish. Judaism teaches that all converts need to be rejected three times, before they are permitted to embrace the Jewish faith. Then, upon entering the Jewish nation, they become strongly committed Jews, for they wanted to become Jewish so badly that they overcame all obstacles in order to achieve this. Indeed, Naomi rejected Ruth’s requests to come with her to Israel more than once, before she relented and let her join her.

Furthermore, Boaz, by letting Ruth glean on his fields, was also ensuring that Naomi was taken care of, even though both she and her husband abandoned Israel during a time of famine while Boaz remained behind to help others, and even though Naomi’s husband died because he was not generous enough with the poor. Boaz’s treatment of Naomi teaches us that we should always take care of our family when they are in need, especially if they are widows, regardless what that relative has given in return.

Visit United with Israel.

After Jordan butting-in on the matter of the Temple Mount (see here and here), it’s Egypt’s turn.

This week, the Egyptian Ambassador to Palestine Yasser Othman paid an inspection visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque,

during which he was briefed on the recent Israeli practices against the mosque, especially the escalation of daily incursions into him, and repressive measures against the worshipers and terraces of science students and insulting the Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Hussein by his arrest.

Among those conferring with him were the Mufti of the Al-Aqsa Mosque Shaykh Muhammad Hussein, Sheikh Abdel Azim Salhab Chairman of the Islamic Waqf, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, a member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, and Joseph Mukhaimar, Abdullah Siam deputy governor of Jerusalem and Amer Abu Sham.

Ambassador Osman said that:

Egypt has stood and stands all the time with the legitimate national rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, and his today come commissioned by the Egyptian leadership, to emphasize on this matter and to send a message rejection of the unilateral measures taken by the Israeli side…the position of Al-Azhar also was clear about the encroachment of Israeli-Aqsa Mosque, and that Al-Azhar also has warned of sharing temporal and spatial Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning of growing extremism in the Israeli side, according to what was produced by the recent Israeli elections…noting that the Israeli actions last in the Al-Aqsa Mosque was unprecedented and violent against worshipers and students terraces science.The Mufti warned the Israeli government of the consequences of doing these procedures legislation, which aims to initiate the application sharing time at the Al-Aqsa Mosque as a prelude to the split, and perhaps unlock racist extremist ideas which demands remove it.

To remind you: Egypt is run by the Muslim Brotherhood, partners with Hamas.

Visit My Right Word.

A few years ago, I saw a video of a most amazing young man who was brave enough to walk in the midst of an Arab demonstration and stand for the truth. The young man’s name is Daniel and he is of Persian (Iranian) descent. He took to the streets with an Israeli flag. At the end of the video, there’s a very interesting statement by a young Arab girl who readily admits there can be no peace; that they do not and will not accept the Jewish state of Israel. If you didn’t see that video – it’s here… (but the more important one is just below).

“Daniel” is at it again – with his wisdom. He’s older now, a bit anyway, and though he was very wise then, he is even wiser now. In the language of his ancestral home (the one before he came home to the only real home his people has ever known), Daniel has an important and inspiring message for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I hope this message is delivered. I hope it is seen in Iran. Please watch the video and spread it to your friends. It should “go viral” – around the world…around and around – until it reaches the streets and ruling halls of Tehran. Am Yisrael Chai – the nation of Israel lives.

Visit A Soldier’s Mother.