Azaria quits Jerusalem race, endorses Elkin

Azaria, who was the first woman to run for mayor of Jerusalem, will instead seek to return to the Knesset in the 2019 general election.

By GIL HOFFMAN
Updated: SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 05:34
MK Rachel Azaria (photo credit: Courtesy)
MK Rachel Azaria
(photo credit: Courtesy)
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulanu) dropped out of the October 30 race for Jerusalem mayor on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday’s deadline to join the race, and endorsed Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin.
Azaria, who was the first woman to run for mayor of Jerusalem, will instead seek to return to the Knesset in the 2019 general election. Polls indicated that she had no chance to get elected mayor.
At a hastily called press conference, Azaria praised Elkin for his experience, which she said is essential to lead the city. She said she believes he is the best candidate to unite the city’s different sectors .
Azaria, whose Yerushalmim Party will run on a joint list with Elkin’s Jerusalem Will Succeed, sharply criticized Hitorerut leader and mayoral candidate Ofer Berkovitch at the press conference. She warned that it is a danger to put the city in the hands of Berkovitch.
Berkovitch responded that Azaria was never really a candidate and that he had warned when she announced she was running that her fictitious candidacy was intended only to hurt him. He said her former supporters would not buy her deal with Elkin and would vote for him.
The Likud’s Jerusalem branch, which is not supporting Elkin, submitted its list for the city council on Wednesday. One of the reasons Elkin decided not to run with the Likud was that the branch chose a list of candidates that did not include a woman in its top 10 before he entered the race.
The list the Likud submitted did end up including a woman in its third slot: attorney Hofit Stern, who administers the properties of the Rami Levy discount supermarket chain.