Israel’s housing shortage leads to internal tensions
The rising cost of living in Israel is driving a wedge between the secular and religious, as protests continue.
Published On 11 Aug 2011
Protesters who have camped out in Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel continue to demand action over the soaring cost of living.
The housing shortage is leading to tensions between religious and secular Israelis.
In Ramat Beit Shemesh, a few miles south of the main town, about 30,000 units for Haredi, ultra-Orthodox Jewish people, have already been built and occupied and another 30,000 are planned, all on land donated for free by the government.
The social justice movement is in a bind, as targeting the religious sector would provoke a political backlash.
Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan reports from Beit Shemesh
Source: Al Jazeera