Tair Ifargan: "Kiryat Shmona must be a significant district city"

Tair Ifargan, a Knesset candidate for the "Yashar!" party and former Director General of the Ministry of Labor, spoke with Anat Davidov on 103fm regarding her party's proposal to rehabilitate the North, a program with a total scope of over 15 billion shekels.

Explaining the funding sources for the ambitious program, Ifargan stated:

"This money will come first and foremost from changing the government's priorities. Coalition budgets have reached an all-time high, and we, of course, will change that dramatically and cut it significantly."

She further noted that her party intends to cancel sectoral benefits:

"A significant source is about seven billion shekels currently allocated in various benefits and incentives for the draft-dodging public, which does not take part in the military burden, the economic burden, or the labor market."

Ifargan explained that the program was formulated after reviewing existing plans and addressing identified budget shortfalls. The five-year plan allocates 6 billion shekels for fortification and 9 billion shekels for personal security, education, energy, transportation, economic development, and the environment.

At the center of the program is the capital of the Upper Galilee:

"Kiryat Shmona, as a district city, must be a significant, strong city that provides public and social services and serves as an engine for economic development. It influences the entire Eastern Galilee."

To achieve this, she proposes defining the city in legislation as a "focus city," promoting tax incentives to attract residents and companies, and creating "hubs" of excellence.

Finally, Ifargan criticized the lack of transparency regarding security policy in the North. "The IDF should receive all the power and ability to act with full freedom in order to provide full security to the residents of the North," she concluded.