It is impossible to ignore the huge and colorful billboards of the Hitorerut movement that have been scattered around the city for the past two weeks. They feature the movement’s chairman, Adir Schwartz, and his fellow members of the list for the council. It seems that Schwartz is trying to recreate the same momentum that his predecessor, Ofer Berkowitz, did eight years ago.
The message being conveyed is all about youth, with Schwartz’s youthful face projecting an image that is neither ultra-Orthodox nor religious (although Schwartz himself is a liberal, religious Jew), as if to say: “Young people still have something for them in Jerusalem.”
As for Mayor Moshe Lion, since no one is currently competing against him, he is progressing calmly and without undue concern about the elections. However, will he be able to put together an attractive list?
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Lion, a religious, Mizrahi man, officially announced that he intends to compile a list comprised of equal numbers of men and women. He wants a woman in the second slot, but it is currently unclear if that person will also be a deputy mayor, since Lion has a prior commitment to Ofer Ayoubi, currently the closest person to him and his most senior assistant.
Lion would like a secular, left-leaning woman for the slot to attract a secular audience to vote for his list. But so far, no one has been selected. Meanwhile, the battle of egos between two veteran elected officials – Laura Wharton (Meretz and Democratic Jerusalem) and attorney Yossi Havilio (Save Jerusalem) – continues to sabotage any possibility of their joining forces.
The main debate between them is, of course, about who will lead the list that will – or should – unite them both, and possibly also include Labor representatives in the city, as well as the Yesh Atid party.
This battle takes place mainly on social media networks, with Wharton saying that the union between the two is urgently needed, maintaining that she is not the one preventing the merger.
In the ultra-Orthodox sector, the message is that at the moment, there are more urgent matters for the ultra-Orthodox public, and that the campaign will only begin after the High Holy Days. However, the deadline to submit lists and candidates is September 15 – only one day before Rosh Hashanah – 50 days from today.
As in previous campaigns, the issue is how the united list will fairly represent all of the city’s haredi sectors, particularly the Sephardi Shas list. For now, no one is speaking openly about the list for the city council.
In the Religious-Zionist sector, Liora Alon – a mother of eight and member of the Har Hamor community associated with Rabbi Zvi Tau – has announced that she is running for the city council on behalf of the Noam party.
Ninety-five days until D-Day. Stay tuned. ❖