Investments in infrastructure, the arrival of tech giants, and growing pressure on the central region place the North and South at a strategic turning point. The panel at Madlan Media’s “No More Periphery” conference, which focused on strengthening commerce and employment in the North and South, painted a clear picture: The question is no longer whether there is a periphery, but whether the state can translate a rare opportunity – security, economic, and demographic – into independent metropolises that generate employment, commerce, and quality of life on a national scale.
“Eliminating the Periphery” Not as a Slogan – But as a Half-Hour Metric
Rafi Elmaliach, head of the Planning Administration, indicated the planning direction and explained that the change does not depend on municipal borders but on functional division. “Eliminating the periphery is not just saying we cancel the semantic word,” he explains, “but coming and saying what we do so that, within a half-hour test from home, we provide maximum services – employment and, of course, infrastructure that complements and enables this.”
Uzi Levy, CEO of the Mivne Group, clarified that the trend on the ground is already purely economic – not Zionist or philanthropic. “We do this because we make money there and we operate throughout the country.” For him, this also explains why commerce and employment projects are opening in Ma’alot, Ofakim, Dimona, and Kiryat Shmona: the market is already there, and companies simply follow it.
NVIDIA as a Regional Accelerator
Ido Greenblum, head of Kiryat Tivon Council, refused to accept the narrative of “luck” or “miracle” around NVIDIA’s arrival, emphasizing that this is a long and planned process, and that what matters now is multiplying the impact across the entire area. “No miracle happened; it is the result of many years of hard work combining the Planning Administration, Israel Land Authority, Kiryat Tivon Local Council, and our committee for planning and building this employment area.” In his view, this is not an isolated event for Tivon, but an opportunity capable of changing the entire North through transportation, employment hubs along the railway, and real connections between communities.
Moti Ben-David, mayor of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, brought it to the test point of local authorities: Those who want – push. “We need the state not to interfere. We know how to get the work done.” He presented an unapologetic, no-nonsense approach: The city builds, markets, renews, and establishes commerce and employment hubs. According to him, anyone joining now will enter at a completely different market price than in two years.
“This Moment Could Be Wasted”
Assaf Simon, CEO of BST Development, countered the euphoria and warned that this moment could be wasted if the North is not built as an independent metropolis. “If the State of Israel fails to seize this moment, these are moments that probably happen once every few decades or even less frequently.” For him, the vision is not “a train from Tel Aviv to Kiryat Shmona” as a goal, but a fast internal transportation network that keeps workplaces in the North and prevents a situation where everyone just “lives in the North” and spends their lives in the center.
The panel was moderated by attorney Ziv Caspi, founder and owner of Gindi Caspi & Partners. He opened with a sharp line: If we want to revive places like Kiryat Shmona, it will not happen with small “facilitations” but with “real economic incentives.” From there, the discussion moved to a broader question: How to turn the North, and regions in general, into an independent hub of employment, transportation, and growth – not just a project that needs to “connect to the center.”
