Israel's Judges: Don't Turn Public Housing Failures into a Death Sentence for Families

In an op-ed published on 'Davar', Danny Gigi, CEO of the Public Housing Forum, calls on Israeli judges to re-examine eviction cases from public housing. He argues that the state and housing companies create a shortage in the housing stock and use it as an excuse to evict families, instead of taking responsibility for the policies that created the crisis. Gigi emphasizes the need to consider alternatives, legal representation, and involvement of welfare services.

In an op-ed published on the 'Davar' website, Danny Gigi, CEO of the Public Housing Forum, calls on Israeli judges to stop and re-examine the way eviction cases from public housing are handled. Gigi argues that the state and housing companies, led by Amidar, present to the courts a narrative that the housing stock is limited and therefore there is no choice but to evict families who do not meet the criteria. He calls this a 'dangerous manipulation' and argues that the shortage is not a natural disaster but a result of policy decisions, including the cancellation of the decision to allocate 5% of apartments in new projects to public housing and the cancellation of the 'Living with Dignity' program of former Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Galant, which would have added about 7,500 apartments per year. Gigi notes that funds promised for purchasing apartments were not actually transferred, and that public apartments remained empty. He calls on the courts to examine the state's responsibility, alternatives to eviction, legal representation for families, and the involvement of welfare services. He quotes the public committee headed by Orna Barbivai, which said that evictions are a 'symptom of the problem, not a problem in itself.' Gigi emphasizes that accepting the claim that 'the stock is limited' would legitimize a perception that the state can create a crisis and use it to harm human rights.