By: Cherrie Heywood – The Jerusalem Post

Bitterly fought over by both Israelis and Palestinians, with the success of peace hinging on the equitable division of one of the holiest cities in the world, revered by all three monotheistic religions, Jerusalem is the most socially deprived and least pleasant place to live in Israel according to an Israeli survey.

Fifteen of Israel’s cities were surveyed by the TheMarker and Ha’ir, and Jerusalem failed dismally in a number of categories including unemployment, education, poverty, security and religious tension.

This is particularly pertinent as a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the reverberations for a future peaceful Middle East rest heavily on this city, which has witnessed countless invasions, occupations and bloodshed as numerous cultures, ethnicities and religions battled for supremacy over the centuries.

Israel’s right wing has stated categorically that it will not support any Israeli government that even considers dividing the city between Palestinians and Israelis.

Equally vehemently, the Palestinians have said East Jerusalem is a red-line issue for them and the success of any peace negotiations are dependent on this part of the city being handed back to its rightful owners.

Under international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, East Jerusalem is illegally occupied by Israel.

The survey states that thousands of young Israeli couples have fled the city as the spread of the ultra-Orthodox Haredim increases, thereby exacerbating the bitter divide between secular Israelis, who constitute the majority of the population, and the Haredim.

Despite their inferior numbers the Haredim manage to dictate Israeli policy to a large degree as their political party Shas is able to draw major financial concessions on religious study and child grants.

This is done by incumbent Israeli governments kow-towing to their demands in order to gain the political support of smaller parties, such as Shas, on which any coalition government is dependent.

As the Haredim pay little tax, avoid being drafted into the military and ensure that public transport and shops are closed on the Sabbath, this engenders much resentment from the secular majority.

The level of secondary education in Jerusalem is the lowest of any of the 15 cities surveyed, mainly due to the low eligibility figures for matriculation certificates and the high dropout rate at the city’s high schools.

From 2003 to 2006 just 36 percent of Jerusalem’s teens graduated, well below the national average of 67 percent.

The low matriculation figure can be traced to many of the capital’s residents who attend ultra-Orthodox or Arab high schools, but do not apply for certificates.

Another problem facing the education system stems from the Haredization of the city. Public secular schools are closing due to a lack of students, and more and more ultra-Orthodox schools are opening in secular neighborhoods – attracting growing numbers of ultra-Orthodox families.

This has led to a brain drain of educated secular Israelis from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem spends approximately $200 per resident on infrastructure annually, compared with the national average of $158 per resident. Despite this Jerusalem’s roads still have a lot more potholes than cities in the rest of the country.

Housing in the holy city is increasingly out of reach for ordinary Israelis, with many rich foreign residents purchasing at the higher-end of the lucrative real estate market. From 2006-2008 apartment prices increased by 72 percent compared to the national average of 43 percent.

The prices of property in Tel Aviv are the same as those in Jerusalem, the difference is that salaries are far lower in the latter. An average monthly salary in Jerusalem is under $1,500 compared with a national of $1,750 per capita.

Paradoxically, although unemployment is slightly lower in Jerusalem than the other Israeli cities surveyed, participation in the workforce is lower than the rest of the country.

This is probably explained by lower registration with government unemployment agencies by the city’s many large Orthodox families.

Forty-five percent of Jerusalemites are active in the work force whereas the other cities register a national average of 56 percent.

The statistics for the Arab sector, or East Jerusalem which is predominantly Palestinian, are significantly worse. Much of this part of Jerusalem receives minimal municipal services and a lower budget compared with the wealthier Jewish western part of the city.

East Jerusalem suffers visible neglect in regard to road infrastructure, sewage and water, and a lack of master urban plans for building homes and public buildings.

The rate of unemployment is also much higher for East Jerusalemites, while their income is far lower compared to their counterparts in Western Jerusalem.

Jerusalem also records high levels of pollution while dirt and garbage infest the city’s streets. Waste recycling is very low at just 4 percent compared to an average of 13 percent nationally.

But perhaps the most serious problem facing this holiest of cities is the tension and hatred that divides Palestinians and Israelis.

The Israeli security establishment has warned of more nationalistically motivated attacks from East Jerusalemites following a spate of these which included bulldozers and motor vehicles used to ram Israeli pedestrians and motorists.

For their part, Palestinians are growing increasingly bitter at the discrimination they face and the human rights abuses carried out in the eastern part of the city against them as well as being cut off from their brethren in the West Bank by the separation barrier.