Municipal elections are taking place in most Israeli cities today. In several tight races the religious public has a big stake – and holds the balance of power.
The most-watched contest is in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem, where the Zionist-religious public is acknowledged to have the power to decide the race and has been courted intensively by both candidates, hareidi Meir Porush and one-time Kadima member Nir Barkat. Porush cannot count on an important part of Jerusalem’s hareidi public—the Gerrer Hasidic community. The Gerrer Hasidim are paying Porush back for his role in a political deal-gone-sour in last year's municipal elections in the hareidi town of Beitar Illit. They are not expected to vote for Barkat, the secular candidate, but neither will they vote for Porush.
In the coastal city of Ashdod, the growing hareidi-religious population has thrown its support to Deputy Mayor Dr. Yechiel Lasri, born in Morocco, against incumbent German-born Mayor Tzvi Tzilker, who has headed the city for 35 years. Lasri says it's time for change, and says he is working to bring a university, hospital and hotels into Israel's 5th-largest city. Polls show that the race is tight.
In Beit Shemesh, incumbent mayor Danny Vaknin (Likud) is trailing two religious candidates in the polls: Shalom Lerner, backed by the religious-Zionists, and Moshe Abutbol, supported by Shas and most hareidi-religious groups. Here as well, the Gerrer Hasidic community has broken step with the rest of the hareidi public and thrown its support to Lerner. Recent polls show that Vaknin, running for his fourth term in office, has the support of some 15% of the electorate, while both Lerner and Abutbol are close to 30% each. The religious and hareidi-religious population of Beit Shemesh has grown considerably over the past several years, and is expected to decide the race.
Rabbi Eliyahu Cohen, an American oleh (new immigrant) running in the #6 spot on the Abutbol list for city council, told IsraelNationalNews, "The chances that we will win - and that we will even reach six seats - are looking very good." Supporters of Lerner, Deputy Mayor of the city, similarly expressed optimism. "Aside from his long experience in city management," one supporter said, "Lerner is known to be just a very nice guy. Even the opposition's campaign literature says that he smiles a lot..."
In Kiryat Arba, in a four-way race, Malachi Levinger and Yaakov Sharvit lead in the polls. Meir Lapid, whose father and brother were murdered in a terrorist attack outside Hevron in December 1993, and Shmuel Karelin are trailing. Most of Kiryat Arba’s population is religious.
Levinger, Deputy Mayor of the city and the head of Midreshet Hevron seminary, is credited with having brought many young couples to the city. He is also the son of Rabbi Moshe Levinger, considered to be the founder of the modern-day Hevron Jewish Community.
Sharvit is the Director-General of the Meuchedet Health Fund in the Judea region, and is considered to be more closely associated with the "old guard" of long-time Mayor Tzvi Katzover. "No matter who wins," said journalist Aharon Granot, "the two of them can be assumed to work well together after the elections, as they are both good people."
In Sderot, the long-suffering town subjected to rocket bombardment by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, the mayoral contest is a three-way race. Achlama Peretz, left-wing wife of former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, religious candidate Alon Davidi, who heads the Security for Sderot Task Force, and Kadima candidate David Buskila are vying for the job. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert openly supports Peretz, and not Kadima candidate Buskila. It is likely that no candidate will receive 40% of the vote, forcing a runoff between the top two finishers.