MKs giving themselves raise to cover higher rental prices

Lawmakers have taken a tangible step toward addressing skyrocketing rental prices in Israel, for themselves at least.

The Knesset’s House Committee votes to approve giving MKs who live outside the capital an extra NIS 1,284 ($350) a month to pay rent on an apartment in Jerusalem, upping it from NIS 3,316 ($905) to NIS 4,600 (1,256).

The average price of a two-bedroom rental in Jerusalem was NIS 4,103 at the end of 2022, according to the latest figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics. That’s up from NIS 3,925 at the start of 2021.

Successive governments have repeatedly promised to address swiftly rising real estate prices, but have taken few serious steps beyond a series of short-lived housing lottery programs.