Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TELAVIV7099
2005-12-30 13:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

CONFERENCE PROMOTES NEGEV AND NEW MINISTRY

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 007099 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV IS ECONOMY AND FINANCE GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE PROMOTES NEGEV AND NEW MINISTRY
SPEARHEADS IT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 007099

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV IS ECONOMY AND FINANCE GOI INTERNAL
SUBJECT: CONFERENCE PROMOTES NEGEV AND NEW MINISTRY
SPEARHEADS IT


1. (U) SUMMARY: The Globes business daily newspaper hosted
several hundred private and public officials at a business
conference where the GOI promoted its Negev Development Plan.
A panel of prominent GOI officials lead by former Vice
Premier Shimon Peres presented the development plan, which
calls for increasing the population of the Negev, providing
economic assistance to the Bedouin, upgrading the education
system and improving the housing infrastructure, relocating
selected military bases to the area, creating industrial
zones and high-tech parks, improving existing and building of
new infrastructure, and cleaning-up of the Ramat Hovav
chemical plant. The speakers indicated that privatization
and investment in the Negev will be a key element in ensuring
that the economic plan succeeds. Peres asserted that in
2006, the GOI will increase the amount of money allocated for
the Negev and that financial assistance promised by the U.S.
for the region will be helpful. In a subsequent meeting, the
newly minted Ministry for the Development of the Negev and
Galilee gave a presentation to the EconCouns on the GOI's
plan to develop the two regions. The officials described the
structure of the ministry, which is now staffed by 13 people,
and indicated that it will address housing, employment,
infrastructure, and education issues, including support for
the Bedouin. In addition, the ministry will also begin the
planning process for a Galilee development plan. END SUMMARY.

--------------
GOI Promotes the Negev at Globes Conference
--------------


2. (U) On December 3, Globes held a three day business
conference, where private and public officials took the
opportunity to market their products and different business
initiatives. On December 4, the GOI showcased its Negev
Development Plan, where prominent government officials
promoted the economic initiative and talked about investment
opportunities in the region.


3. (U) The panel consisted of former Vice Premier Shimon
Peres; Ilan Cohen, Director General - Prime Minister's
Office; Lt. General Dan Halutz, IDF Chief of Staff; Eitan
Wertheimer, Chairman - International Metal Working Companies;
Felix Zandman, Chairman - US Vishay Intertechnology; Avishai
Braverman, President of Ben Gurion University (BGU); Shmuel

Rifman, Head of the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council; Efrat
Duvdevani, Director General - former Vice Premier Peres'
office; and Haim Blumenblat, Chief Executive Officer - Daroma.


4. (U) Peres expressed his thanks to GOI ministries for
supporting the plan, which he said is reflected in the
expenditure of 700 million New Israeli Shekels (NIS),
approximately 156 million dollars, for the Negev. He claimed
that the GOI will allocate more money for the southern region
in 2006, and that financial assistance promised by the U.S.
for the Negev will help in this endeavor.


5. (U) The other speakers in the panel highlighted various
parts of the plan, such as the GOI goal to increase the
population of the Negev through employment and housing
initiatives, overhauling the education system and addressing
problems in the Bedouin sector. They emphasized that
infrastructure support and clean-up of the Ramat Hovav
chemical plant takes precedence, in order to create a clean
environment that will allow basing of troops in the area.

--------------
New Ministry: Nexus for Developing the Negev
--------------


6. (U) On December 22, Efrat Duvdevani, Director-General for
the newly minted Ministry for the Development of the Negev
and Galilee gave a presentation to the EconCouns and Econoff
on the GOI's plan to develop the Negev and Galilee. The
ministry is staffed by 13 people, mostly shifted from peres'
office that dealt with Gaza economic development. Duvdevani
was accompanied by Jossef Avi Yair Engel, senior advisor;
Yorma Dori, Policy and Interagency Coordination; Jill Marie
Reinach, International Affairs and Communications; Orry Ben
Porat, Director of Political and Economic Affairs; Noach
Kinarti, Director of Projects; Yishay Sorek, Arab Affairs;
and Ayelet Frisch, the ministry's spokeswoman. Duvdevani
expressed gratitude to the Embassy for raising concerns over
parts of the plan that were ambiguous, which she said has
helped the ministry take steps to clarify and refine the
plan.


7. (U) Porat indicated that the ministry will spearhead the
Negev Development Plan, which is estimated to cost 17 billion
NIS, approximately 3.7 billion dollars, over the next ten
years. He noted that the GOI has already approved the plan
and budgeted for it. He said the ministry has five
departments: Housing and Tourism, Infrastructure and Economic
Development, Arab Communities, Project Leaders, and
International Affairs and Communication.


8. (U) Porat noted that the ministry will focus on major
issues, such as the low level of income in the Galilee and
Negev, approximately 15 percent lower than the national
average; the high unemployment rate, which is 35 percent
higher than the rest of the country; and the limited
infrastructure, which he said creates a sense of isolation.
He remarked that limited access to higher education is also a
problem because it diminishes a young person's desire to
pursue advanced education.


9. (U) Regarding the Israeli-Arab population in the Negev and
Galilee, he claimed that 25 percent of the Negev population
is Bedouin and 55 percent of the Galilee population is Arab.
He said this segment of the minority sector live in
conditions of low income, high unemployment, and poor
infrastructure. He added that the Bedouin women have 9.8
children on average, compared to the average birth rate for
Arab women of four children and an overall national average
of 2.4. He noted that this worsens their already dismal
socio-economic situation.

-------------- --------------
Implementing in the Negev and Planning for Galilee
-------------- --------------


10. (U) Porat said that the ministry's goal is to implement
projects in the Negev and to begin planning for the Galilee.
He noted that the ministry has been very successful working
with the private sector and other GOI ministries, citing as
examples 371 mortgage grants given to families in the Negev
and 408 grants to families in the Galilee region, in order to
facilitate population growth.


11. (U) Porat also highlighted projects for the Bedouin and
Druze communities. He remarked that a solar electricity
infrastructure grid was recently put into place in the
township of Darijat in the Negev, which will benefit both
Arab and Jewish inhabitants of that township. He claimed
that several Druze and Bedouin tourism initiatives and a R&D
center dedicated to Bedouin health, agriculture, and
community improvement is in the planning stage. He stressed
that vocational training and new education programs for
Bedouin youth are all part of the Negev plan.

--------------
Ministry's Focus for 2006
--------------


12. (U) Sorek said that a committee made up of officials from
the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the
Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee is
planning projects for 2006. He indicated that one of its
goals is to find an optimal solution for the clean-up of the
Ramat Hovav chemical plant, to enable the relocation of
military bases to that area. He noted that another goal is
to find a way to plan for the restoration of the Dead Sea,
and to construct an additional 8,000 hotel rooms in the area
to support tourism. He said that these projects will help
create 20,000 jobs for Negev residents.


13. (U) Porat said that regarding national projects, the
ministry is going to work with the private sector to
establish an industrial zone on the Jordanian side and a
logistics center on the Israeli side, connected by a bridge.
As for the Arab communities, he added, that education,
employment, housing, and infrastructure projects will
continue to be implemented and that spending in this area
will grow in order to help "narrow" the gaps between the
Jewish and Arab communities in the Negev.

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