Some say it is not possible - there is just too much of a culture clash - haredim need to live only among their own, secular on their own (DL seem to be able to live with secular and vice versa, and maybe even with haredim but only in small numbers), Arabs on their own, etc. Even within Haredi communities, different types of Haredim often have trouble living too close to each other. It prevents the inevitable culture clash. Just look at Bet Shemesh where the culture clashes have become like a national pastime. Some cities have even had campaigns where they use slogans like "we are not Bet Shemesh", "we don't want to become the next Bet Shemesh".....
The thing is, nowadays putting people together does not work - people fight when Haredim move into an existing city or neighborhood and get upset that they are "taking over", and people get upset when an isolated city or neighborhood is being built for haredim. As long as planning of such cities and neighborhoods is done properly, or at least in a way that will not harm nearby communities, and it is not done in a discriminatory way - communities are also planned/built to alleviate the shortages in other communities as well - there should not be any opposition to a standalone Haredi community.
The way it works now is that people oppose letting Haredim move (en masse) into existing cities and neighborhoods, and people oppose Haredim having cities or towns built just for them. So where are Haredim supposed to live?
I write this because this morning the Cabinet held its weekly session in Sde Boker to mark the yahrtzeit of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister and a founding father of the State. During the session the Cabinet voted in favor of building a number of new cities n the southern pat of Israel. One of those cities is Kasif - a city designated for Haredim. The vote passed with 8 in favor and 5 against.
Kasif is being planned to bear some 50,000 Haredi residents - 10,000 homes, in the first stages of the town.
In addition to Kasif, 2 other towns were also approved - Shizaf and Chiran (Chiran for the dati community and Shizaf for the secular).
The approval comes automatically with opposition. A group of mayors and regional heads from the area filed opposition to having such massive absorption of Haredim in the area - their demand for a certain lifestyle will become a burden on the existing society and will deter others from coming to the area. Environmentalist groups oppose it sayign thaat there is no need to establish a new town - instead existing towns, such as Arad, Yerucham, Ofakim, Dimona and Netivot, should be grown, especially as they have not reached their expansion limits.
(source: Globes)
Any valid claims should definitely be dealt with. Proper infrastructure in these new towns should be planned and built. Plans should include adequate schools, shuls, mikvas, matnas and sports facilities, along with parks, business and commercial centers, plans for bringing places of employment, etc. It should be planned properly and they should not be left to become a burden on other nearby towns. If the planning will be done properly, there should be no reason for opposition to such a community.
The truth is also that these towns have already been approved already, each of them years ago at different times. I am not sure what was done today different than previous decisions - maybe now they will actually get started on them?
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