סוגיית העדפת בני המקום בהקצאות קרקע למגורים בסוגי יישוב שונים בישראל

Abstract

The question of who has the right to reside in a particular locality has been at the center of public and legal discourse in Israel for many years. This is the result of official and unofficial mechanisms intended to exclude certain individuals or groups. This article deals with a related though different issue, which focuses on the preference given to locals during the allocation of state land. Addressing this question requires a discussion of issues such as individual freedom, the meaning of home, the importance of family, the significance of residency in a particular place, the nature of various types of settlements in Israel, justice in land distribution and the necessity of correcting of historical wrongs versus the perpetuation of existing social stratification, as well as the preservation of existing communities versus concerns about pushing them out of a neighborhood or settlement. After presenting a framework for thinking about the issue of preference of locals, the article conducts a critical examination of the existing legal framework in Israel in both rural areas, where the right of residency is managed by cooperative associations, and urban areas, which include, for this purpose, the settlements of minorities. The conclusion drawn from this analysis is that the same flaws in legal decision making with respect to acceptance by a settlement also exist in the regulation of the preference for locals. The social and economic outcomes that affect the lives of individuals and the distribution of land in Israel perpetuate established ways of thinking about forms of residency and about disparities and social differentiation in Israel.