Meretz rejoins Muni coalition

Party will regain portfolios lost upon leaving coalition, including deputy mayor position, cultural portfolios, workers rights.

By MELANIE LIDMAN
Jerusalem 520 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Jerusalem 520
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Nearly a year after Meretz members were kicked out of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s coalition, Barkat and Meretz Party Secretary Dror Morag signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday night that would bring Meretz back into the coalition.
Three of the four Meretz members were kicked out of the coalition over disagreements regarding the mayor’s controversial Gan Hamelech program in the Silwan neighborhood last July.
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With Meretz’s return to the coalition, the party will regain the portfolios that it lost upon leaving the coalition, including a deputy mayor position, cultural portfolios, pensioners, workers rights, education in east Jerusalem, disabilities and special needs, and public health.
Meretz will also have greater influence with the east Jerusalem portfolio, after a special agreement was reached with east Jerusalem portfolio holder Yakir Segev of Barkat’s Jerusalem Will Succeed party.
Barkat noted that the city has no legal authority to deal with human rights violations, but would explore alternatives to fixing the gaps in east Jerusalem.
Meretz also requested that the city make additional efforts to plan with the residents of east Jerusalem, increase recycling and increase funding for women’s initiatives.