Joint Venture Between Jewish Agency, Israeli Government Accelerates to Address Israel's Housing Crisis

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - In furtherance of the joint venture between The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Government of Israel to rapidly provide 2,650 new housing units for needy elderly people throughout the country who are eligible for government housing assistance, an affiliate of The Jewish Agency has completed a unique financing agreement with the Harel Group for approximately NIS 600 million of the expected NIS 1.5 billion total cost of the venture. The venture includes The Jewish Agency and its subsidiary, Amigour, the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing, and the Israeli Ministry of Finance.

The balance of the funding for the venture will come from the Ministry of Construction and Housing, The Jewish Agency and The Jewish Agency’s partners and donors in Jewish communities around the world.

Construction is already underway on a 180-unit property in Tel Aviv, and construction will begin by the end of the year on a 471-unit property in Ashkelon. As part of this unprecedentedly large public housing project, attractive, high quality apartments and facilities will be constructed in areas across the country and will be rented to elderly individuals who are eligible for government housing assistance in exchange for monthly rent of no more than NIS 300. An additional benefit of the new housing is that it will allow those elderly couples and individuals who currently reside in large apartments that are part of the government’s public housing program to move to the new buildings, thus making the larger apartments available to young families awaiting suitable public housing solutions.

Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky said: “This is an important step toward solving the public housing crisis among immigrants and the elderly. Jewish communities around the world have identified this as a primary social challenge and have mobilized to help the State of Israel advance unprecedentedly broad solutions out of a deep sense of dedication to the welfare of the people of Israel.”

Chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee of The Jewish Agency for Israel David Silvers said: "This project reflects the commitment of the Government and The Jewish Agency to immediately address the challenges faced by needy elderly people, most of whom are immigrants who have arrived in Israel over the years with The Jewish Agency’s assistance. Dramatically accelerating the traditional time frames required to develop new housing of any kind in Israel, it draws on years of experience accrued by The Jewish Agency’s renowned public housing subsidiary, Amigour, as well as on a unique financing model developed by The Jewish Agency. Additional projects utilizing this model will commence in other locations on a timetable that reflects the urgency of the need. Amigour, which specializes in the construction and operation of high-quality public housing projects throughout the country, will manage the buildings’ construction and long-term operation."