Jerusalem mayoral candidate Meir Porush said Monday that he is proud to be a hareidi-religious Jew but that it is wrong to think that he will only represent that part of the population if elected. Interviewed by Yishai Fleisher on Israel National Radio, the United Torah Judaism Member of Knesset pointed to his term as Deputy Housing Minister: "I represented settlers, the Druze, Circassians, Arabs, secular and religious, and received certificates of recognition from all of them."
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The former deputy mayor said that the capital has many problems, noting that the Jewish population has dropped from 72% in 1967 to 66%. Rabbi Porush said that frontrunner Nir Barkat does not have the knowledge, ability or experience needed to get the assistance, including funding, needed from the national government to build housing and create jobs to attract Jews to move to the city. Aside from the matter of experience, Porush said he won't change his stances like council member Barkat, who Porush associated with the Kadima party, even though he is running as an independent.
Asked about Jewish residence in the predominantly Arab eastern part of the city, Porush stressed Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, adding that Jews should be able to live and build where they want to. He also repeated his stance that while it is clear that Israel must have sovereignty on the Temple Mount, the key to co-existence with the city's Muslim population is maintenance of the status quo, granting Muslims the right to pray on the Mount while Jews pray at the Western Wall of the Temple, to avoid Arab rioting.