Mayoral candidate Meir Porush launched his campaign with a virtual press conference instead of the usual face-to-face encounter.
By PEGGY CIDORMK Meir Porush 224.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski )
In what appears to be an attempt to mitigate the aversion of secular residents to his haredi appearance, mayoral candidate Meir Porush launched his campaign with a virtual press conference instead of the usual face-to-face encounter.
His second step is the use of a caricatured portrait on his campaign posters, instead of his real picture. Although the cartoon softens his image, the gimmick has yet to prove effective. According to sources at Porush headquarters, the latest polls reveal that if Aryeh Deri runs he will take more votes from Nir Barkat's electorate than from the haredi candidate.
Israel Beiteinu launched its municipal campaign this week. The list, which includes religious Zionists, secular residents and Russian olim, aims at "bringing the real change so expected in the city of Jerusalem," according to a press release.
The campaign's slogan, "Of course we stay in Jerusalem!" hints at the negative migration plaguing the capital, particularly of young residents. One of the first goals of the list is "to assure the personal security of the residents in view of the recent recrudescence of terror," which the party released before Monday night's terror attack.
List head Masha Novikova announced the party's strong commitment to "preserve the Jewish character of the city as capital of the State of Israel and the Jewish people and to prevent any attempt to divide it again."
Novikova, a computer science teacher at ORT College, was born in Moscow. She made aliya 20 years ago and was seriously wounded in a terror attack four years ago while riding the No. 19 bus.
The joint National Union-National Religious Party list for city council seems poised to generate headlines both during the campaign and after.
List head Aryeh King, a right-wing activist who fiercely opposes Arab building initiatives in east Jerusalem, won support for his cause when the Local Planning Committee this week rejected a plan to construct a mall on the Mount of Olives, near the ancient Jewish cemetery.
King is only No. 5 on the list (despite the fact that he leads it). The first four seats will be occupied by NRP representatives, who will be in charge of education and culture, led by city councillor David Hadari. King and his National Union colleagues will concentrate on trying to "prevent any partition of the city, strengthening the Jewish foothold in east Jerusalem, and preventing the entry of Arab residents to seam neighborhoods, like French Hill, Pisgat Ze'ev and Neveh Ya'acov," according to a press release.
The youth division of opposition leader Nir Barkat's Jerusalem Will Succeed list this week launched a vast operation targeting soldiers. To encourage them to vote in the elections, dozens of volunteers approached soldiers at the Central Bus Station and distributed cards reminding them that on November 11 they should ask their officers to grant them the special leave they are entitled to in order to fulfill their right to vote. According to Barkat's spokesman, the reaction on the ground was "more than welcoming."
The Greens for Jerusalem, which was among the first groups to launch its municipal campaign, is having trouble deciding on the makeup of its list. After various trials and meetings with potential candidates, including city councillor Dalia Zommer (Shinui), it seems that the list has decided to put more emphasis on educational issues.
List founder Arieh Hess announced earlier this week that the group will rally educators and pedagogues worried about the low level of education in the city, and form with them a list that will run under the ticket of green and educational issues - a move that might strengthen the green appeal of Barkat's list, where SPNI director of urban communities Naomi Tsur is listed as No. 2.
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