By PEGGY CIDORnir barkat and meir turgeman_521(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem, Sarah Levin)
The sands in the hourglass of the upcoming municipal elections are running low. There are four months left until D day, and new alliances are being formed ad hoc, some of them on the ashes of former ones. Anything goes when it comes to reaching the finish line in the best condition possible.This is the time to take a look at what the 30 city council members (not counting Mayor Nir Barkat) have done for their constituencies.First, the new alliances.Let’s take, for example, the young generation, the pillar upon which every society wants to build its future. For years, the young people in Jerusalem felt that they were not important enough in the eyes of the policymakers. That is, until the changeover of the 2008 elections, with two parties (Hitorerut and Yerushalmim) presenting themselves as representing the interests of the young generation.Not to mention the mayor himself who, through his youthfulness and his proposals, also brought new hope to the city’s youth.But Hitorerut and Yerushalmim failed to continue to work hand in hand, and within less than two years they split. Three capable people – Merav Cohen, Ofer Berkowitz and Rachel Azaria – couldn’t work together on shared issues (the first two focused more on singles, while Azaria worked more with young couples and families). As it stands, it seems that nothing will convince them to renew their brief alliance which, according to many of their followers, was the main reason for their success in being elected to the city council.Bayit Yehudi has three council members, and harmony is their weak spot. While party leader David Hadari headed the powerful finance committee, his two peers Yair Gabbai and Edna Friedman barely speak to each other or to him. Friedman fearlessly stood up to the repeated attacks of her own party, who wanted to force her to leave and give her seat to the person who was next in line, and remained in her place, focusing on gender issues. Realizing that she can’t expect any support in the future, she is working on creating a women’s party for the next city council that will represent women beyond the bounds of established parties. Her struggle did empower her – not exactly what her opponents had in mind – but it is too early to say how the voters will respond when she presents her party.The most interesting changes – in people and in direction – have occurred during the last few weeks in two of the parties: Barkat’s Jerusalem Will Succeed and city councilor and opposition leader Meir Turgeman’s For Jerusalem.First, Barkat. It seems that his next party will look very different from the current one, which also looked different from the first party he headed, when in the opposition. Yakir Segev, a longtime close companion of the mayor, has already announced that he will not continue in political life – at least on the local level. Segev, who held the portfolio for east Jerusalem and was subsequently in charge of many youth projects, was the man behind most of the mayor’s initiatives to keep the young and educated generation in the city.Segev is not alone in bowing out. Rami Levy, the well-known owner of supermarket chains, cellphone lines and other enterprises, is leaving city hall. But in all honesty, his attendance record was not that great.Levy claimed that he was always ready to fulfill any task the mayor asked of him, which is true, but it is clear to many observers that his second stint on the city council will not be followed by a third.But the most amazing change comes from Turgeman, the most vocal member of the city council, once close to Barkat and today his most uncompromising opponent. Turgeman has appointed Shahar Levy as chief of his campaign.This is quite surprising, considering that Turgeman is religious, while Levy is the man behind the campaign to sell hametz on Passover and until recently was the manager of Restobar, a place strongly linked to having restaurants be open on Shabbat. Oh yes, and Turgeman intends to focus on the needs of the younger generation. •
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