Central Bank: No real estate bubble, despite low interest rates

The Bank of Israel is worried about the soaring real estate market, but it doesn't think there's a bubble, officials have said. And despite the stock market and the real estate market, it won't be raising interest rates, due to other economic factors.

Despite the increase in local housing prices, the Bank of Israel doesn't see any real estate bubble: Current housing prices are on average only 15% higher than prices in the 1990s, the bank says.

Barak’s real estate

Reports on Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s latest and grandiose real estate purchase reminded me of a sticker I recently saw on a vehicle: “We need a righteous leader”. What does “righteous” mean? I asked myself. First and foremost, it is someone who does more for others than for himself; one who sacrifices his own comfort and who is willing to suffer for the sake of others.


Can we point to even one member of our leadership who meets these criteria or at least approaches them? One person who at least looks like he’s suffering? Or even one who pretends to be suffering? You can search high and low and you won’t find one.


Moreover, if we keep looking we will likely find just the opposite - arrogance, haughtiness, pretentiousness, and greed, which not only reflect the aspirations and preferences of most of Israeli society, but worse than that, dictate them.

Jerusalem property makes it protagonist in Palestine conflict

During an appearance at Vassar College in early February, controversial New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner was asked about the ongoing evictions of Palestinian families from homes in East Jerusalem which Israel occupied in 1967. Israeli courts have ruled that Jewish settlers could take over some Palestinian homes on the grounds that Jews held title to the properties before Israel was established in 1948.

Bronner was concerned, but not only about Palestinians being made homeless in Israel's relentless drive to Judaize their city; he was also worried about properties in his West Jerusalem neighborhood, including the building he lives in, partially owned by The New York Times, that was the home of Palestinians made refugees in 1948. Facts about The New York Times' acquisition of this property are revealed for the first time in this article.

"One of the things that is most worrying not just the Left but a lot of people in Israel about this decision is if the courts in Israel are going to start recognizing property ownership from before the State [of Israel was founded]," Bronner said according to a transcript made by independent reporter Philip Weiss who maintains the blog Mondoweiss.net.