The relationship between the mayor and the far-right city councillor is deteriorating.
By PEGGY CIDORNir Barkat(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
He is a religious, right-wing public figure who lives in east Jerusalem, in Ma’aleh Hazeitim, a Jewish neighborhood very close to the Temple Mount. He devotes much of his time to local lands and properties that belonged to Jews in the past, or to Palestinians who are willing to sell their properties to Jewish residents.Arieh King is No. 2 on the Yerushalayim Meuhedet list, and a religious Zionist who split from Bayit Yehudi; a member of the city council coalition, he nevertheless accuses Mayor Nir Barkat of wrongly giving in to local Arabs by avoiding a severe response to illegal construction by this sector.Considering that Barkat is the first mayor to openly present himself as a true representative of the Right – his decision to improve infrastructure for Arabs is based on his determination that the city remain unified – King’s accusations are, at the very least, intriguing.King recently organized a group of Jewish neighbors from Ma’aleh Hazeitim to patrol kindergartens and homes in the area, and to fight back at any attempt to throw stones or Molotov cocktails. In one case, King put up photos on his Facebook wall of him and his friends chasing a group of young Arabs back onto the Arab side, stating, “This is what the police should do and are not doing, for fear of retaliation or international criticism.”The relationship between King and Barkat has been very tense. Five months ago, King’s list was not allowed to nominate a representative to the Interior Ministry’s Jerusalem district sub-committee of the National Planning and Construction Committee. This committee approves, among other things, construction plans in Arab neighborhoods; as it did recently with more than 1,000 housing units in al- Sawahra – a decision King considers a disaster for the city’s Jewish presence and continuity.After the mayor refused to approve the nomination of his party’s representative to this committee, King appealed to both the ministry and the committee for an examination of conflicts of interest on local councils. Barkat immediately reacted to this step by removing King from the coalition (though he was not exiled from his list). Incidentally, this week, both bodies issued their rulings on King’s appeal – finding his request “justified, legitimate and legal.”But there is more. Earlier this week, the city council’s finance committee had to decide whether to grant funding to the Open House, which serves the capital’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. King – one of the fiercest opponents of any activity in support of this community – managed to prevent the approval, and the committee voted to deny the Open House the support.The last step is the city council vote, held yesterday evening (after press time), at which King may not have the necessary majority to implement the finance committee’s decision.However, the goal was partly achieved: For the first time, a loud and clear voice against the LGBT community and its needs was uttered, from outside the haredi benches. King himself maintains, despite all explanations about LGBT special needs, that any activity – artistic or social – can be attended in any city community center, which are all funded by the city. He expressed his wish that Barkat “would not put pressure on the rest of the coalition members to change the decision.”Whether the Open House managed to get a majority of supporters at yesterday’s meeting – to which King invited all members of the public who back his efforts – King is adamant about continuing to act to reach his goals. These goals include more Jewish residents on the Arab side of the city – both in Arab neighborhoods and in new neighborhoods around the capital – and to prevent any activity that, in his view, does not suit the sacred image and character of Jerusalem.What is certainly interesting is the fact that considering some of his views are not that far from Barkat’s, the two are so hostile to each other. King, for his part, says Barkat (and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) are more or less leftists in disguise, and only he represents the true spirit of religious Zionism.
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