Livnat, activists exchange comments on Facebook
Facebook posts urge ministers to return to Jerusalem
Activists send messages to Tel Aviv-based ministers, urge them to relocate offices to capital
"Limor, come home" – this was the message that activists wrote on Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat's Facebook wall to protest fact that she operates out of a Tel Aviv office, and not a Jerusalem one.
The activists belong to the Awakening in Jerusalem youth movement, which is leading a media campaign to relocate all Tel Aviv-based government offices to the capital.
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Some activists arrived at Livnat's chambers earlier this week and tried to block the entrance to the office using chains. They also placed signs nearby; one stated that the office was closed because it is being relocated to Jerusalem, while another called on the minister to relocate.
The protesters later sent Facebook messages not only to Livnat but also to ministers Silvan Shalom and Yossi Peled, whose offices are located in Tel Aviv as well.
While Shalom chose to ignore the messages, Livnat responded on her page. She explained that her office does operate from Jerusalem, but is divided between three locations – Givat Shmuel, Ramat Eshkol and Sheikh Jarrah.
"The separation makes work very difficult," she said. "Believe me, we requested more than once for the entire Culture and Sports Ministry, including my office, to be united in one place – in Jerusalem of course. Unfortunately, we have yet to receive an appropriate response to our request."
"I am in Jerusalem almost every day of the week," Livnat responded to another comment.
'Campaign unnecessary, strange'
Another activist, Zohar Kaplan, wrote on Peled's Facebook wall recently: "Dear Mr. Peled, the time has come to transfer your office to the capital! Come to Jerusalem!"
The minister retorted by saying that while he does have an office in Jerusalem – at the Knesset – he believes that "we must settle all of Israel's cities, and not just one place. We have great respect and appreciation for Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people in Zion, and this why we hold all government meetings there."
Awakening Chairman and former Jerusalem Councilman Ofer Berkovitch told Ynet: "It's time to stop talking about Jerusalem, and start doing, full force. Awakening won't let go until all 3,500 government jobs are transferred to the capital."
The Culture and Sports Ministry said in a statement that it has branches in cities around the country to be more accessible to the public. It added that the government's housing administration was unable to find suitable accommodations for Livnat in the capital.
"If the members of the Awakening movement bothered to do minimal research, they would have realized immediately that the Culture and Sports Ministry operates from Jerusalem, making the campaign not only unnecessary but also strange.'
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