By PEGGY CIDORMayor Nir Barkat laid the cornerstone for the Skate Park(photo credit: Courtesy Jerusalem Municipality)The gig is up A high-ranking employee at the municipality was arrested last week, and many documents, including his computer, were confiscated for further investigation.His identity has not yet been revealed, but we can say that the police have been investigating the matter for a while, following several complaints lodged against him. This is not the first time that a high-ranking municipal employee has been under investigation, including a few cases of arrest. But according to a source at Safra Square, this is the first time in a long time that it has happened in this particular department.The official is suspected of taking bribes and favoring tenders issued by the municipality to benefit people he knows.Under suspicion at Safra Square Some 1,200 employees of the municipal company Ariel are threatening to go on strike in a few days. If that happens, there is serious concern that many of the events planned for the summer will be canceled. Ariel is in charge of Jerusalem’s cultural events and making the outdoor ones and largest in the city. The summer events include the Light Festival, the Night in Old City Festival and Hutzot Hayotzer, to name just a few.The dispute is connected to the employees’ desire to organize a union, a move that is not welcomed by the municipality right now. According to the rules, if the request is rejected by the city’s CEO, Yossi Heimann, an official announcement about a work dispute should be released, at which point 14 days are granted for the two sides to come to an agreement. If no agreement is reached by then, the workers can go on strike.An official letter on behalf of the Ariel employees was sent to Mayor Nir Barkat last week, warning that if their request to negotiate their salaries and working conditions was not accepted, there would be no other recourse but to strike.Getting a head start American author Nicole Krauss has been named associate artistic director of the Jerusalem International Writers Festival of Mishkenot Sha’ananim. She will begin her role for the 2014 festival but will participate at an event at Mishkenot Sha’ananim next month, where she will have the opportunity to meet some of the authors who will take part in next year’s festival.Krauss has already sent a letter of invitation to writers around the world, telling them about the uniqueness of the festival and the great atmosphere and charm of the place as an ideal gathering for creativity.“There is no other city as demanding, heartbreaking, beautiful and complex as Jerusalem,” Krauss wrote in the letter. She has close family ties in the city but visited here as a writer for the first time in 2008 – a very different experience than visiting her grandparents.Sporting new signs Two new projects that will please many Jerusalemites were launched this week – the completed western wing of Teddy Stadium and the planned Skate Park in Liberty Bell Park for skateboard lovers.The new wing at the stadium was planned years ago. From the beginning, it was clear that the city’s major stadium would have to be enlarged.As for the Skate Park, this will be the realization of one young man’s dream. Noam Rivkin always wanted to have a designated place for his favorite sport, and he never gave up on that dream, despite the long time it has taken to be fulfilled.These two new venues will add to the city’s appeal in the eyes of young sports enthusiasts. As one employee at the municipality who was involved in their planning and completion said, “It will prove, more than 1,000 slogans, that real people live in Jerusalem – that it is a normal city with normal life.”The first scaffold installed in Liberty Bell Park, together with the sports facility there, will turn the park into a center of family and sports activities.Made in Jerusalem The Youth Authority of Jerusalem will present, for the first time in the city’s history, a fair of products made by the young generation. The fair will display products made by young artists and craftspeople in the open spaces of the First Station, as well as in its galleries. Besides artistic works, there will be dance, music and puppet shows, theater and video art. It will take place every Monday from 5 to 11 p.m. and on Fridays between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. It will end with a party to the sounds of the Purple Cut Band.Entrance is free.Underground streams With less than five months to go to the municipal elections, there seem to be some stirrings here and there. In the haredi community, things are warming up as the search for a challenger to Mayor Nir Barkat is becoming a clearer goal. The “hottest” name out there is still former mayor Uri Lupolianski, but his candidacy cannot be officially presented until his involvement in the Holy Land affair is clarified.But now it seems that a new player has entered the arena, with open attempts by Gur Hassidim to dismantle the legendary haredi unity. According to source in the haredi circles, some of the most influential elements in the largest hassidic sect in the country – and in Jerusalem – are pulling for a separate agreement with Barkat, in return for his agreement to help fulfill their needs in terms of education and housing. As we may recall, in the 2008 elections the last-minute decision by the Gur Hassidim to vote for Barkat (instead of the official haredi candidate, Meir Porush) was the turning point that made the secular candidate successful in the election.This time, still in connection with the same old internal divisions and quarrel between the Gur Hassidim and the rest of the haredi community, this crucial step might be taken again, only this time everybody will know about it in advance.For the moment, things are not sealed and many attempts are being made to prevent that move. But the Gur Hassidim are known for their independent status, and Barkat perhaps shouldn’t stop the campaign, but he might feel even more confident, still being the only candidate on the roster.
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