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Excerpts from the Coalition against Land Privatization in Israel’s position paper:

, כ " ה , כ " ג ( ארקיו " ) תֻתִמְצִל רֵכָמִּת אֹל , ץֶראָָהְו "
“And the land shall not be sold permanently” (Leviticus 25:23)

Land is a unique resource – it is limited in size, and is fused with significant political, social, and
economic implications. The Israel Lands Administration reform proposes turning State‐owned lands,
which comprise 93% of Israel’s total land area, into commodities that can be sold. By so doing, the
proposed reform endangers the future of the State of Israel in the following ways:

• Nationally – The country’s new landowners, who will doubtlessly be from among the
extremely wealthy class of Israel and the world, will become the new policy‐makers
regarding Israeli land, even though this is clearly of national (not private) interest. In
addition, there is no way to prevent hostile factors from outside of Israel from
buying land as part of this process.

• Socio‐economically – The wealthy class that will buy the lands will come to control
Israel, as they will have a strong grip on the reins of Israel’s economy, which they will
not be inclined to release.
• Morally – After 1948, the State of Israel expropriated lands of the Palestinian
refugees in order to create a national home for the Jewish people after 2000 years
of exile and persecution. This fact has formed the moral basis to justify the land
expropriation to ensure the Jewish people’s existence. If this reform passes, it will be
the ultimate substantiation for anyone that wishes to prove that the Zionist
pretense of building a national home for the Jewish People was just a cover‐up by a
few people who wanted to get rich off Israel’s land. The necessity for Zionism itself
will be dealt a fatal blow in the face of those that will ask: ‘Is the possession of Israeli
lands by wealthy individuals, both Jewish and non‐Jewish, preferable to the return of
refugees to their lands?’ It is clear that we will not be able to convince the world, nor
our children, that Zionism rests the bulk of its weight on the morality of national
land ownership, not in the name of profits, but rather in the name of achieving
justice and ensuring life and safety for the Jewish nation. This land reform process
could thus worsen the anti‐Semitic sentiments against the State of Israel across the
world.
• Environmentally – The State will have greater difficulty planning in ways that take
into account natural resources and safeguarding open areas. It is clear that the
economic interests of the new landowners will take precedence over environmental
concerns in the long run.

Although this reform is the cornerstone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s economic plan, we
can remain hopeful, since it can still be stopped. The immediate first step necessary is the
formalization of an alternative reform, which stays true to the meaning and essence of the Basic
Law: Israel Lands, and does not allow land to be put up for sale. In addition, we must demand that a
rich, widespread public discourse takes place, to allow the public to determine its stance on this
important and existential issue. A change of such great magnitude, with so great an influence on the
basic characteristics of the State of Israel, cannot be passed on the outskirts of democracy.