Jerusalem: A city divided

Contentious rivalries among both local and national parties are unfolding in Jerusalem’s municipal elections, especially in the mayoral race.

By BENJI ROSEN
Jerusalem Western Wall, Dome of the Rock 521 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jerusalem Western Wall, Dome of the Rock 521
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Contentious rivalries among both local and national parties are unfolding in Jerusalem’s municipal elections, especially in the mayoral race.
Nir Barkat, the incumbent mayor, lacked any significant challengers until Likud’s Moshe Lion, who headed the Jerusalem Development Authority and served as director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, declared his candidacy in late July. Lion said he is contesting Barkat because “the residents, secular and religious, have been largely ignored,” and Jerusalem needs “a dramatic change.”
However, Barkat has argued that Lion is just a pawn in MK Avigdor Liberman’s (Yisrael Beytenu) battle against him, not to mention Liberman’s infighting with Likud members who are supporting Barkat instead of the Likud-endorsed Lion. Barkat, in an interview with Haaretz, said Liberman is managing Lion’s campaign to eventually share in Jerusalem’s future wealth, explaining that “the motivation then is to replace the mayor and replace the system.”
Liberman and his recent corruption trial have also influenced secular and ultra-Orthodox parties to realign themselves. The Labor and Meretz parties combined to avoid splitting the non-haredi vote, which would increase Lion’s chance of being elected. Alliances among the haredim, who traditionally vote as a body, have also weakened. Lion has support from senior non-hassidic Haredi rabbis, and Shas chairman Arye Deri is also personally campaigning on his behalf. Deri even called on Shas’s Sephardic supporters to vote for Lion because he is a “member of our ethnic group.”
But several ultra-Orthodox factions might not vote for Lion or are quietly backing Barkat. Bnei Torah is even sponsoring its own mayoral candidate, Haim Epstein, to protest Liberman. Losing a united haredi vote would be a significant setback to Lion’s campaign, which he only began after major haredi groups pledged their support – with haredim comprising between 90,000 to 100,000 of Jerusalem’s 260,000 eligible voters.
Meanwhile, Shas’s Council of Torah Sages just announced it is endorsing Lion, which they say was their late leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s “last directive.” Posters of Yosef are also appearing throughout Jerusalem, which may influence voters to sympathize with the Shas party and their support of Lion.
But a pivotal voting bloc in this election might be religious Zionists. Historically, they have ultimately determined the Jerusalem mayor. In 2008, Barkat secured their vote over Meir Porush, and has maintained it by being loyal to their settlement construction projects. Indeed, a September poll showed Barkat would win 55 percent of their vote. But some religious Zionist leaders have declared their support of Lion, who is a religious Zionist himself.
While an October 11th poll predicted Barkat would “trounce” Lion, Lion’s campaign is fast to indicate Barkat is playing a “double game.” A source from Lion’s campaign said Barkat is publicly claiming he is a secular champion and a leftist, while behind closed doors he is making deals with haredi representatives; this is how Lion’s spokesman said Barkat won his last election.
For Jerusalem’s 31 city council seats, several new secular and ultra-Orthodox parties have emerged, which is demonstrative of the ongoing conflict in Jerusalem between pluralism and religious conservatism. Besides the Meretz and Labor merger to contest the right-aligned ultra-Orthodox, the Ometz Lev and Yerushalmim parties, led by returning city council members Naomi Tsur and Rachel Azaria, are campaigning for gender equality, diversity and environmental sustainability. Tsur said Ometz Lev is focused on “promoting the role of women in the decision-making process, as well as working toward a more equitable, healthier, cleaner and more accessible city.”
Even though Ometz Lev and Yerushalmim are each predicted to win no more than two city council seats, Ometz Lev has 18 female candidates on its ticket, including an Ethiopian woman and a haredi woman. Among the ultra-Orthodox, United Torah Judaism’s monopoly of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox vote is being threatened. Tov, which aims to represent haredim who are more integrated in the Israeli workforce and culture, is one party that says UTJ has not stood for the real needs of the haredim.
But while new parties are bringing to the surface many of Jerusalem’s societal issues, one large demographic likely won’t be heard during the October 22nd elections: Arab Jerusalemites. While Arabs make up approximately 38% of Jerusalem’s population, only 1.9% of them voted in the 2008 elections. Then there’s the debate over dividing Jerusalem, which is outside the domain of both Barkat and Lion.