Establishing a Socio-economic Policy for the Development of East Jerusalem

A lack of organized material exists pertaining to East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research acts out of a desire to promote a knowledge-based social-economic, municipal, and political strategy that will take into account the various wishes and needs of the Arab residents that live in East Jerusalem. In the past decade, a significant portion of the Institute’s work has been dedicated to this goal, with the aim of drastically improving the quality of life of the residents and achieving human, spatial, and urban justice. The Institute’s outstanding expertise on East Jerusalem is a result of involvement in projects centered around complex issues such as the situation in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods, the historical basin, and the security fence. This, alongside projects related to daily life, the populace, the legal status of the residents and its implications, planning, infrastructure, society, economics, and more. The Institute’s researchers combine quantitative and qualitative methods. The research team has extensive experience in field work, in-depth interviews, and focus groups in East Jerusalem, in conducting sensitive discussions with numerous participants from various sectors, in mediating between decision makers and the residents of East Jerusalem, and in using databases of government authorities and service providers. In light of this experience, the Institute was chosen by the Israeli government to provide research for the implementation of government decision no. 3790 regarding “closing social-economic gaps and the economic development of East Jerusalem” for the five years of its execution, between 2018–2023. The Institute will continue with its previous projects with other partners operating in East Jerusalem such as the East Jerusalem Development Company.