The price of poker

Both Mayor Nir Barkat and the haredi leadership in the city are being careful not to step beyond the invisible boundaries of their game.

By PEGGY CIDOR
House made of cards 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
House made of cards 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
In the game of poker, we all know that what really matters is not which cards you have but your ability to convince the other players that you have what you need to knock them out of the game. A glimpse of what happens during a poker game is taking place right now between the haredi leadership in the city and Mayor Nir Barkat. Not that Corridors is trying to imply that haredi residents are expert poker players, but some of the dynamics of the game are indeed taking place in our streets, as well as in the corridors of city hall.
It is no secret that the haredi representatives on the city council don’t like (to put it mildly) the high intensity of the cultural events organized by the municipality since Barkat has been in office. Too much Shabbat transgressing or, worse, suspicions of enticing visitors to visit churches or eat non-kosher food, too many events taking place in areas close to haredi enclaves and, perhaps in the worst in their eyes, the crowded Balabasta events at the Mahaneh Yehuda market, which have been highly criticized because there was was too much gender mixing and was thus not modest enough.
It was clear that at some point there would be a reaction. So it came last week, with the first of a series of demonstrations scheduled in the area of Mea She’arim, more precisely in Shabbat Square. True, the first one was less impressive than expected by both sides (unofficial figures of the Jerusalem police record about 250 men standing with banners and signs for less than two hours, while the police were prepared to face thousands of participants). But sources among the haredim say that this first and somewhat weak example should not mislead us. “With the beginning of Elul, the time for repentance and preparation for the High Holy Days, things will become more serious here,” explained a man close to the haredi leadership.
One thing must be clarified. The members of the Eda Haredit, the most extreme among the Mea She’arim residents, are behind the recent demonstration and those to come. But what should concern the city’s leadership and the mayor (and it does) is the fact that members of the local coalition are part of the protest. The highly publicized participation of the three haredi deputy mayors at an emergency meeting set by the people of the Eda Haredit was a clear example of a poker face – to show that despite being members of the coalition, the same one that approved the budgets for the summer cultural events that so upset them and their constituency, the haredi representatives did not hesitate to express their criticism publicly.
But it seems the mayor also knows a thing or two about poker. So far, there has been no direct or official reaction, just messages sent through the media that the wave of cultural events – from the Balabasta and outdoor rock concerts to the Food Festival and the Opera Festival – the latter two held in the Old City – were huge successes, brought life to the city and added impressive amount of money to the municipal coffers.
Now, when politicians talk about a boost to the city’s economy, that usually means that any attempt to stop the reason for that boost will have a direct effect on the amount of money available for the residents’ welfare, including, of course, haredi residents. It is no secret that the haredi representatives on the city council work hard to obtain the budgets they need for better conditions in their education institutions. And while any political novice would immediately understand that there is no connection between added income from cultural events and education budgets, experienced politicians like the haredi representatives on the city council would not miss the meaning of the message. Namely, that if the cultural life of the city is threatened, the haredi community might perhaps see less Shabbat transgression and lack of modesty in large mixed gatherings, but it might also become a kind of Pyrrhic victory.
And our poker game? Well, it continues, with each side very careful not to step too far beyond the invisible boundaries of the game. After all, it’s about pretending and keeping a poker face.