Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the changes he is making in the city – from increasing recycling, reducing pollution and adding hi-tech office space, to investing in infrastructure – are intended to benefit both Jews and Arabs equally.
Speaking at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Monday, Lion said that this is best evidenced by a 2,000 square-meter technology hub that the municipality is building in east Jerusalem, that, he predicted, would bring opportunity and investment from both Israeli and international firms.
In recent years, the capital has been transformed into a hi-tech center, said the mayor, with more than 600 hi-tech firms headquartered in the city that employ more than 20,000 people. To that end, Lion said the city is building 1.6 million square meters of hi-tech work and office space throughout the city, both in east and west Jerusalem, over the next three years.
Lion noted that Jerusalem is a mosaic of cultures, traditions and identities. He told conference attendees it is his responsibility to ensure that the disparate groups which make up the city’s population have the space and opportunity to build a shared future in the city.
Lion thanked the friends of Jerusalem in New York and throughout the United States and around the world for their support and prayers for the city.
“Nothing we achieve would be possible without your support,” said Lion, who invited those in attendance to visit Israel’s capital.