No wonder Central Bureau of Statistics figures show a new peak in the number of Jerusalemites leaving Jerusalem.
By PEGGY CIDORNir Barkat(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The opening was rather encouraging. In a hall packed with residents at the monthly city council meeting on Sunday evening, February 12, Mayor Nir Barkat surprised the audience by starting his speech with an apology. Admitting that the strike had caused much damage to residents, he added that he welcomed all critics “with a hug” and promised that he would learn lessons from them.Unfortunately, this declaration was about the only optimistic moment of the meeting, which quickly became stormy, reminding some veteran journalists of the ugly days of mayor Ehud Olmert, infamous for his tendency to quarrel with residents and political opponents on the council. As in those bad old days, microphones of opposition city council members (Laura Wharton for Meretz and the three Yerushalmim members, who resigned from Barkat’s coalition due to the strike) were cut off. Permission to speak was denied repeatedly on the grounds that the rules allowed only short questions and no long statements.According to the guidelines of local councils, only opposition members of city councils can submit questions and propose motions for the meeting agenda.Questions such as who the mayor’s advisers are, how many there are and how much they get paid were rejected by the city legal adviser as “improper.” Other questions that remained unanswered included the impact of the strike on city-center businesses, on tourism and on residents’ health, as well as the implications of the strike on afternoon school programs, in violation of the court’s ruling.The only question submitted by Wharton that got a response was the amount of time Barkat spends on his candidacy for national politics, to which the mayor answered that he was “spending his nights and days promoting the welfare of Jerusalem and its residents.”Barkat is far from being the only mayor in this country eyeing a place in national politics, in addition to running a city. It would be unfair to accuse him of neglecting Jerusalem just because he wishes to reach the Knesset (and perhaps even the next government) after spending almost a decade at Safra Square.The dire facts on the ground during and after the strike are not the result of his lack of interest in Jerusalem – no one disputes that Barkat cares a lot about this city, even if they conclude that he has not chosen the best arena for action.What is of central concern now is how Barkat handles issues. He has been at the city helm for more than eight years, yet we are still confronting the same burning problems – such as haredi-secular relations, classrooms, kindergartens and affordable housing.Critical things are still painfully lacking while haredi representatives expand their influence into secular areas, attempting to shut down bars, restaurants and impose limits on cultural events.One example critics point to is how instead of instituting appropriate solutions to vexing problems – like the urgent need to find venues for kindergartens for young families in the Nahlaot neighborhood – the mayor turned an evening involving the controversial Breaking the Silence NGO into a pretext for shutting down the municipal Barbur Gallery, which provided worthwhile community services to senior residents.Perhaps most egregious, regarding the path of the light rail’s Blue Line along Emek Refaim Street, Barkat mishandled the legitimate opposition of residents, who presented him with three alternative solutions – only to realize that he never really gave them a chance. This tarnished the image of the man who was, not so long ago, considered the champion of residents’ participation and transparency in municipal projects.On top of all of this, the brutality demonstrated toward whoever at the council dares to disagree with the official line has changed the atmosphere that prevailed here a few years ago. Renewed hope for the future of this city and that something good may happen here has turned into a mixture of anger, frustration, suspicion and even despair.No wonder Central Bureau of Statistics figures show a new peak in the number of Jerusalemites leaving Jerusalem.
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