Russian Israeli business tycoon Arkadi Gaydamak has announced his candidacy for the mayoralty of Jerusalem in next year’s elections.
Using the platform of the recently-formed “Social Justice” movement, Gaydamak claimed he would focus his leadership of the capital on strengthening the city “not only from the economic point of view,” but to also turn it into “a symbol of the Jewish spirit.”
Sources close to Gaydamak said he made the decision to join the race some ten days ago. The billionaire was reportedly outraged when Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski criticized the annual march of Russian veterans of World War II through the capital.
Mayor Lupolianski said the march, which was funded by Gaydamak – disturbed city workers.
Gaydamak fumed, “The Jewish vets, old men in their eighties, who fought the Nazis…were denied by Jerusalem City Hall the right to brandish their medals and ribbons once a year on the streets of Jerusalem they defended and saved.”.
The billionaire, also the owner of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, pointed out that the city had no problem supporting the right of homosexuals to parade through the streets of the capital last year, despite the furor caused by the decision.
Gaydamak and Netanyahu Working on a Winning Combination
Gaydamak’s party will also reportedly act as an ally to the well-established Likud party -- and more specifically to its Chairman and Knesset opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
Initial media reports repeatedly quoted Gaydamak as claiming that he did not plan to become a candidate himself, but wanted simply to raise the issues of social and economic justice in Israeli society.
The party’s platform would appear to be a counterpoint to MK Netanyahu’s financial policies during his term as Finance Minister, thus garnering support that would otherwise be denied to the Likud faction.
Gaydamak has been a consistent supporter of the former Prime Minister’s bid to regain the top job, appearing together with him for interviews in the Russian-language media.
The close association and mutual compliments in public appearances have paid off: polls in February showed that Netanyahu’s popularity rose by 17% among Russian immigrants after the interviews.
”Social Justice” or Politics on the Heels of Goodwill Funding?
Gaydamak spent millions of dollars last year on goodwill projects throughout the country that politicians complained were designed more to raise his popularity with the general public than relieve the stress on traumatized Israelis.
The business tycoon has paid for vacations for northern refugees fleeing the Second Lebanon War, a free weekend in Eilat for children traumatized by life in rocket-battered Sderot, and a whopping public party in Tel Aviv this year on Independence Day.
These projects did indeed raise his popularity level with a public that has seen one government official after another fall under the shadow of various suspicions of embezzlement, corruption, bribery, fraud, rape, sexual misconduct and breach of trust.
Shadows of Doubt May Darken Political Prospects
Gaydamak is not free of suspicion either. One week after he announced, on February 21, that he was forming his new party, allegations of money laundering, fraud and bribery surfaced.
French courts asked Israel less than a week later to extradite the international business mogul to face charges of tax evasion and involvement in illegal arms deals with the Angolan government. Israel has refused the request.
A week after the extradition request, the Israel Police anti-fraud unit in Bat Yam began questioning Gaydamak in a separate investigation on allegations he falsified documents issued by the Justice Ministry. A spokesman for Gaydamak's office informed Arutz-7 that Gaydamak in fact came on his own volition to the anti-fraud unit in Bat Yam and produced evidence that the documents in question were genuine.
He was also questioned on suspicion of having gifted Tax Authority officials with tickets to a soccer game played by his Beitar Jerusalem team. Gaydamak's spokesman told Arutz-7 that police have since closed the case.
In March, a Tel Aviv judge ruled that the state could continue its freeze on $4.9 million owned by Gaydamak because there was reason to believe he might be indicted on charges of money laundering.
Gaydamak and his growing cadre of supporters have accused the police and other officials of persecuting him in order to sideline his new political party.
Optimistic Despite Obstacles
Asked in February on his way to the anti-fraud unit if he thought the government was afraid of him, Gaydamak said, “It is too late. They are afraid of the opinions of the public, but the majority of the public is already with me.”
At the time, Gaydamak assured reporters that he had “no intention of being prime minister or of taking any other [political] position” -- a stance he changed two months later.
Now he says he expects to ride into the Jerusalem Mayor’s seat in a landslide victory at the polls a year from now.
“I have not doubt that the entire city will vote for me,” he claimed in his announcement, adding that he wants to turn the city of Jerusalem into “a symbol of peace and Judaism.”
Using the platform of the recently-formed “Social Justice” movement, Gaydamak claimed he would focus his leadership of the capital on strengthening the city “not only from the economic point of view,” but to also turn it into “a symbol of the Jewish spirit.”
Sources close to Gaydamak said he made the decision to join the race some ten days ago. The billionaire was reportedly outraged when Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski criticized the annual march of Russian veterans of World War II through the capital.
Mayor Lupolianski said the march, which was funded by Gaydamak – disturbed city workers.
Gaydamak fumed, “The Jewish vets, old men in their eighties, who fought the Nazis…were denied by Jerusalem City Hall the right to brandish their medals and ribbons once a year on the streets of Jerusalem they defended and saved.”.
The billionaire, also the owner of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, pointed out that the city had no problem supporting the right of homosexuals to parade through the streets of the capital last year, despite the furor caused by the decision.
Gaydamak and Netanyahu Working on a Winning Combination
Gaydamak’s party will also reportedly act as an ally to the well-established Likud party -- and more specifically to its Chairman and Knesset opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
Initial media reports repeatedly quoted Gaydamak as claiming that he did not plan to become a candidate himself, but wanted simply to raise the issues of social and economic justice in Israeli society.
The party’s platform would appear to be a counterpoint to MK Netanyahu’s financial policies during his term as Finance Minister, thus garnering support that would otherwise be denied to the Likud faction.
Gaydamak has been a consistent supporter of the former Prime Minister’s bid to regain the top job, appearing together with him for interviews in the Russian-language media.
The close association and mutual compliments in public appearances have paid off: polls in February showed that Netanyahu’s popularity rose by 17% among Russian immigrants after the interviews.
”Social Justice” or Politics on the Heels of Goodwill Funding?
Gaydamak spent millions of dollars last year on goodwill projects throughout the country that politicians complained were designed more to raise his popularity with the general public than relieve the stress on traumatized Israelis.
The business tycoon has paid for vacations for northern refugees fleeing the Second Lebanon War, a free weekend in Eilat for children traumatized by life in rocket-battered Sderot, and a whopping public party in Tel Aviv this year on Independence Day.
These projects did indeed raise his popularity level with a public that has seen one government official after another fall under the shadow of various suspicions of embezzlement, corruption, bribery, fraud, rape, sexual misconduct and breach of trust.
Shadows of Doubt May Darken Political Prospects
Gaydamak is not free of suspicion either. One week after he announced, on February 21, that he was forming his new party, allegations of money laundering, fraud and bribery surfaced.
French courts asked Israel less than a week later to extradite the international business mogul to face charges of tax evasion and involvement in illegal arms deals with the Angolan government. Israel has refused the request.
A week after the extradition request, the Israel Police anti-fraud unit in Bat Yam began questioning Gaydamak in a separate investigation on allegations he falsified documents issued by the Justice Ministry. A spokesman for Gaydamak's office informed Arutz-7 that Gaydamak in fact came on his own volition to the anti-fraud unit in Bat Yam and produced evidence that the documents in question were genuine.
He was also questioned on suspicion of having gifted Tax Authority officials with tickets to a soccer game played by his Beitar Jerusalem team. Gaydamak's spokesman told Arutz-7 that police have since closed the case.
In March, a Tel Aviv judge ruled that the state could continue its freeze on $4.9 million owned by Gaydamak because there was reason to believe he might be indicted on charges of money laundering.
Gaydamak and his growing cadre of supporters have accused the police and other officials of persecuting him in order to sideline his new political party.
Optimistic Despite Obstacles
Asked in February on his way to the anti-fraud unit if he thought the government was afraid of him, Gaydamak said, “It is too late. They are afraid of the opinions of the public, but the majority of the public is already with me.”
At the time, Gaydamak assured reporters that he had “no intention of being prime minister or of taking any other [political] position” -- a stance he changed two months later.
Now he says he expects to ride into the Jerusalem Mayor’s seat in a landslide victory at the polls a year from now.
“I have not doubt that the entire city will vote for me,” he claimed in his announcement, adding that he wants to turn the city of Jerusalem into “a symbol of peace and Judaism.”