From Ben-Gurion to Ben-Gvir: The face of Israel 2024 - Opinion

The Negev Development Minister's proposal to expand the borders of the Negev Development Authority to include the settlements of South Judea and Samaria (Yosh) - misnamed to transfer budgets to Yosh at the expense of the Negev - is a harmful and dangerous proposal that will damage the Negev's fragile development momentum. It is doubly serious when you remember the tremendous support "Otzma Yehudit" received in the Negev.

On the night between October 5 and 6, 1946, 11 settlement points were established in the northern Negev at the initiative of the Jewish Agency. The purpose of the operation was to include the Negev region within the future borders of the country in light of international attempts to tear the Negev away from the Jewish state. The operation was headed by Levy Eshkol, Ben-Gurion's right-hand man, who temporarily held the position of head of the agency's settlement department in Israel.

Seventy-eight years later, the Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, Yitzhak Wasarlauf, the right-hand man of Minister Ben-Gvir, proposes to take budgets from the Negev and transfer them to settlements in Judea and Samaria. This intention is hidden behind an innocent bill to expand the borders of the Negev Development Authority, so that it also includes the settlements of South Judea and Samaria. This proposal is currently on the Knesset’s table.

The distance between the years and personalities—from Ben-Gurion to Ben-Gvir—tells the whole story of Israel 2024. It is the transition from statehood to sectoralism, from an overall view of the people's needs to a narrow view of sector needs, from an inclusive national order of priorities to a sectoral order.

The decision to subtract budgets from the Negev in favor of Judea and Samaria could have disastrous results and damage the Negev's fragile development momentum. But Wasserlauf's proposal is, in my opinion, also morally wrong. As the minister for the development of the Negev and the Galilee, his main role in the government is promoting the Negev and the Galilee, whose residents are currently fighting for their homes. When tens of thousands of residents of the Negev and the Galilee are evacuated from their homes, when the personal, psychological, economic, and security damages are on a scale that we have not known since the establishment of the State of Israel, and when the price is paid by residents who live in 75% of the territory of the State of Israel, it was incumbent on Minister Wasserlauf to work hard day and night for the Negev and the Galilee, which are completely paralyzed.

Instead of realizing the office's role and goals, as stated at the time of its establishment: "To bring the Negev and the Galilee to growth and development, while utilizing the space of possibilities that exists in them, to develop the geographic periphery and place it at the top of the priorities of the State of Israel, and this, with the understanding that the future of the State of Israel lies in the development and strengthening of the Negev and the Galilee," he is busy with budgetary transfers for the benefit of Judea and Samaria.

The significant disparities are to the detriment of the Negev.

The Negev is at a critical juncture today, and its residents are oscillating between despair and hope. On the one hand, there is significant development potential in the Negev, among other things, due to the transfer of IDF units to the Negev and the establishment of defense industries. On the other hand, there is a severe lack of budgets, a lack of vision, and the slow implementation of large projects. The western Negev settlements were destroyed by the Hamas attack on the seventh of October. On the other hand, there is a comprehensive plan for the restoration of the area, which the Tkuma administration is launching with a budget of tens of billions.

The Negev still suffers from poor infrastructure in the areas of transportation, education, health, and welfare, from high unemployment and significantly higher poverty rates than in the center of the country. Significant projects are still delayed, among them, the construction of the international airport in Nevatim, the construction of another hospital, the construction of a high-speed train on the Tel Aviv-Be'er Sheva line and a light rail in Beer Sheva itself, and the construction of a new plant to produce green ammonia using renewable energies. This is only a partial list of delayed significant projects in the Negev. Many other projects have not yet been implemented for various reasons. These delays harm the development of the Negev and the promotion of the economy and employment in the region.

It should be said honestly that not all the delays originate from a lack of budgets, but today, taking money from the Negev and transferring it to Judea and Samaria means further distorting the allocation of national resources.

The Ministry for the Negev and Galilee Development should be abolished.

Minister Wasserlauf's harmful proposal raises fundamental questions regarding the functioning of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, which he heads. This office was born in sin to give a job to Shimon Peres, who remained without an actual title in the government. Since then, the tradition has continued, and the job has been given to different parties and personalities—not because of its importance but mainly as compensation for not handing over more significant jobs.

In its 20 years of existence, the ministry's contribution to the development of the Negev and the Galilee was zero. The office suffers from a lot of bureaucracy and inefficiency, which makes it difficult for it to promote projects and use the budgets in an optimal way. There is an overlap between the ministry's powers and the powers of other ministries, such as the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economy and Industry, which causes a waste of time and resources. No less severe is that the ministry tends to impose its authority on the local authorities in the Negev and Galilee, thus harming their autonomy. This causes a feeling of dissatisfaction among the heads of local authorities, who feel that they are not full partners in the decision-making process.

Above all stands the fact that despite the ministry's existence for many years, the economic and social gaps between the Negev and the Galilee and the country's center remain large. The ministry failed to attract a strong population to these areas and failed to plan and execute large projects. Undoubtedly, the ministry's goals can be achieved more effectively by strengthening the local authorities in the Negev and Galilee and transferring powers and budgets directly to them. This approach will allow the local authorities to act independently and better suited to the unique needs of each region.

Therefore, the time has come to abolish this unnecessary office, which will also result in significant cost savings, both in terms of budgets and personnel. These resources can be directed toward other projects that will more efficiently develop the Negev and the Galilee.

The concentration of the population in the center of the country - a strategic danger

In 2015, it was decided to expand the powers of the Ministry of the Negev and the Galilee to handle the social periphery, which is not in the Negev and the Galilee. Accordingly, its name was changed to the "Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee." However, the gaps between the center and the periphery in Israel are still severe: from the availability of public transportation to life expectancy, educational achievements to housing prices, cultural and leisure offerings, and personal safety.

Instead of implementing a long-term, comprehensive, and dynamic plan to reduce these gaps as part of a far-sighted national vision, the Israeli government perpetuates the gaps and pays lip service to the periphery. Instead of seeing Ben-Gurion's vision for the development of the Negev as a national-Zionist road map, which requires planning and execution at the highest levels, the government shows laxity, weakness, and lack of will.

The dangerous overcrowding in the center of the country and the Dan area should have long ago caused the government to act vigorously to disperse the population and massively settle the Negev, which comprises 60% of the country's land and is open to widespread settlement that enjoys full consensus.

And we need to repeat and shout at the top of our lungs: the population's concentration in the country's dense center is an existential danger to it. It causes damage to the quality of the environment, infrastructure, quality of life, and security. It burdens the transportation system, causing traffic jams and congestion; it worsens the lack of public and open areas and contributes to the high cost of living, especially in the housing sector. You don't have to be a strategic genius to understand that a high concentration of the population is an attractive target for terrorist attacks. That damage to the infrastructure can lead to significant disruptions in daily life. Above all, the concentration of the population in the center causes the periphery to be neglected.

The government has the duty, especially in these days of serious security threats, to distribute the population more equitably throughout the country, emphasizing the Negev while developing infrastructure and promoting the quality of life in this critical region.

The local leaders’ policy to stick their heads in the sand

No less disturbing than the conduct of Minister Wasserlauf is the silence and apathy of the heads of the authorities in the Negev—from the largest to the smallest. This reminds me of the struggle that my friends and I led in the "Israel for the Negev" association to transfer the IDF's intelligence units to the Negev. Although this is a project with enormous economic potential for the Negev—revenues of 60 billion shekels over two decades and the creation of 50,000 new jobs—the heads of the authorities almost surrendered without any struggle against those who stood up to cancel it, first and foremost then Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi.

There is no need to say too many words about Kochavi's legacy in the army these days after the October Shabbat—we all feel it very well, but why do the heads of the local leaders continue with their policy of sticking their heads in the sand? It's indeed hard to bite the hand that feeds you, but being a public figure and a leader requires great mental strength. Sometimes, there is no escape from attacking and going against the government, even if you belong to one of the parties that make it up. What's more, this is a continuation of a long-standing policy of discrimination of the Negev from a budgetary point of view. How long will they spit on us and say it's raining? How long?

True, the Negev residents do not have a strong lobby like the center residents, and the local leaders find it difficult to influence budgetary priorities. But all this is changing.

The Negev needs people of vision and action, experienced entrepreneurs, and community leaders who will promote massive projects, bring new residents here, develop economic growth anchors, and turn the country's most important region into a prosperous and flourishing one. A new generation of leadership is growing in the Negev, and we will hear more about it.

Hopes in Ben-Gvir were dashed

The conduct of Wasserlauf-Ben-Gvir is puzzling for another reason. The "Otzma Yehudit" party, of which they are members, drew a considerable part of its support from the residents of the Negev. In the elections for the 25th Knesset in November 2022, the party received 14.4% of the votes in the Southern District (which includes the Negev). This is a significant increase compared to the 8.4% of the votes the party received in the elections to the 24th Knesset. Many residents in the area had high hopes for the party and Ben-Gvir himself, believing he would rise above personal considerations. But when Wasserlauf proposes to include Kiryat Arba, the seat of Ben-Gvir, on the map of the Negev Development Authority, it looks bad. Very bad.

Instead of taking care of the issues he promised to take care of—personal safety and governance—Ben-Gvir is drinking other people's budgets. The conclusion from this behavior is clear: Ben Gvir spits into the well from which he drinks. I would expect Knesset members Almog Cohen and Zvika Vogel, veterans of the Negev, to fight and make themselves heard and not turn a deaf ear.

There is no despair in the Negev at all

The realization of the Negev development vision is the order of the hour. This is a national project of utmost importance, both from a security point of view, an economic point of view, a social point of view, and an environmental point of view. The development of the Negev will be a significant step in strengthening Israel as a strong, prosperous, and progressive country. The realization of the Negev development vision will create new jobs, attract entrepreneurs and investors, and contribute to significant economic growth in the region and Israel as a whole. If the Israeli government, which was elected mainly thanks to the votes of the Negev residents, does not understand this, it will betray its historical role.

Despite everything, we, the residents of the Negev, must not despair. The Negev has enormous economic potential in many fields: industry, high-tech, renewable energy, agriculture, and tourism, and it is a shame that the government does not have ministers who understand this. The fate of the Negev will be determined by its inhabitants and new leaders who will rise for us in the likeness of Ben-Gurion.

The author is the chairman of the "Israel for the Negev" association, which led the public struggle to transfer the IDF's intelligence units to the Negev.