THIS WEEK IN JERUSALEM: Peggy Cidor’s round-up of city affairs 413466

Elections for the municipal workers’ committee, slated to take place in the first week of November, look like they will set Safra Square on fire.

By PEGGY CIDOR
The Khan Theater (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The Khan Theater
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Age before duty
Elections for the municipal workers’ committee, slated to take place in the first week of November, look like they will set Safra Square on fire. For almost seven years, committee president Zion Dahan has managed to protect workers’ rights and even improve some of them, while keeping what is called “industrial quiet” – meaning zero protests and no strikes. Dahan, who cares about the employees but always prefers to reach agreements rather than start strikes – “from which no one knows how to get out with minimum damage” he used to declare – is willing to run for another incumbency, despite his age (he is close to retirement age).
Everything seemed fine until a few days ago when Dany Bonfil – secretary of the Histadrut labor federation’s Jerusalem district, which represent the municipal employees – decided to return to the arena. Bonfil was the head of the municipal workers when Ehud Olmert was mayor and was renowned for his rather blunt methods: Strikes were almost a regular occurrence, including for petty reasons.
A first hint of what Bonfil has in mind was the ugly welcome issued to President Reuven Rivlin, who was invited to open the school year at a haredi school in Har Nof. Bonfil announced that as a first step toward obtaining his demands, he ordered sanitation workers not to remove any garbage in the area on the morning of the visit, thus the president and Mayor Nir Barkat had to see that unsightly mess on their way to the school’s festive opening.
“I believe in good relationships between employer and employees,” says Dahan, who insists that Barkat has always had an attentive ear for employees’ needs. The thing is that Dahan is approaching retirement age, and according to the rules, only the mayor has the right to permit him to remain in his position until age 70.
But Bonfil, who apparently doesn’t appreciate the calm that reigns at Safra Square, is supporting a candidate to go against Dahan (whom he doesn’t even talk to anymore) to stir up some action at the municipality. Dahan told In Jerusalem that Bonfil does not represent the real interests of the workers, and he plans to meet with Barkat soon to prevent Bonfil’s straw candidate from running.
New stops on the way
 Shabus, the private Shabbat bus service, is adding a new stop on its route. As of this week, it will stop near Abu Tor’s YES Planet complex for the benefit of weekend cinema-goers. The organizers say they will continue to cater to the needs of passengers, whose numbers are increasing all the time, and their desire to travel to entertainment venues in the city center.
Meanwhile, another location is joining those already open on Shabbat. A new initiative of the Yeru-Shalem Forum will offer a series of plays for children at the Khan Theater. Starting tomorrow, the Kum-Kum Theater Company (mostly puppet shows) will present a monthly early-afternoon program in the small Khana’le hall for children aged five and up (and their parents).
Yerushalmi card holders will receive a discount.
Deputy Mayor Ofer Berkowitz, who holds the culture portfolio on the city council, says this is another milestone in the goal of opening up the city for all, while also including events for observant residents and guests that do not involve desecrating Shabbat.
Islamic State in Baka?
Residents of the Baka neighborhood are concerned that videos of beheadings posted by Islamic State have exerted some influence on Jerusalemites. A stone statute of a man, which has been located in an area playground for many years, was recently beheaded. Nobody knows who is behind the vandalism but the municipality, which was informed of it by the local council, has already contacted the sculptor, Leonid Zylber, and asked him to reconstruct the missing head.


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