Heroes in search of homes: housing demobilized soldiers in early statehood Jerusalem

ABSTRACT The housing shortage faced by demobilized soldiers after the 1948 War was especially grave in Jerusalem, where they had to compete with refugees, immigrants, and civil servants over abandoned properties. Public construction of new homes for them in the city was belated, limited, and slow when compared to other localities in Israel. Despite public sympathy and institutional aid, organizational circumstances and political considerations resulted in a solution for some, yet no affordable and timely solution for all. The prioritization of various groups of home seekers often sidelined demobilized soldiers, highlighting the erratic nature of Jerusalem’s postwar repopulation process and the spatial manifestations of social capital.