Last update - 00:00 27/12/2007
Jerusalem of Gold: City hall in the capital is for multi-millionaires
By Jonathan Lis
With less than a year to go before the Jerusalem mayoral elections, none of the major parties has fielded a candidate, and it is still unclear if they plan to. In the past, the office of mayor was a desirable one: Teddy Kollek devoted 28 years to the post, Ehud Olmert resigned from the Knesset to become mayor, and various politicians, among them former ministers Dan Meridor, Reuven Rivlin and Ophir Pines-Paz, considered running in previous campaigns.
But this year, clear-cut political figures seem afraid to throw their hat in the ring, mainly due to the feeling they cannot beat the ultra-Orthodox voting bloc. After the last elections, Likud won only two seats on the city council, and Labor did not manage even one. Apart from the ultra-Orthodox parties, only the National Religious Party, Meretz, Likud and Shinui were represented on the council.
"Olmert gave Jerusalem to the ultra-Orthodox," Pines-Paz said yesterday. "He broke up the wall-to-wall coalition Teddy Kollek had and built a front based on Likud and the ultra-Orthodox. Now that Likud has crashed, only the ultra-Orthodox are left."
A senior politician who had considered running in the past said he was giving up. "I would recommend to any candidate for this post to make sure the prime minister is behind him. It's no problem to get elected, and to find out afterward that the cabinet has not allocated enough funding to run a city like Jerusalem," he said.
"It is a very poor city, on the one hand, and on the other, with great international potential. But the government does not seem to have an interest in investing what is needed."
As of now, only two people have announced their intention to run. One is businessman Nir Bareket, who has retired from business and devoted the last five years to working for the city, among other things as head of the opposition in the city council.
The other candidate is businessman Arcadi Gaydamak. Both are perceived by their adversaries as tycoons who may transform their philanthropic contributions into votes.
United Torah Judaism, which fielded Mayor Uri Lupolianski last time, has not decided who its candidate will be. Lupolianski has not yet decided whether he will give up his candidacy, as stipulated in the rotation deal he signed, to Agudat Israel MK Meir Porush.
Despite Lupolianski's relative popularity among non-ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemites, the Jerusalem weekly Kol Ha'ir has already acclaimed Porush as a leading candidate. Another possible candidate who has still not declared his intentions is former interior minister Aryeh Deri, if the rabbis do not force a decision on an agreed-on candidate.
Former Jerusalem district police commander Mickey Levy is also said to be considering running for mayor. He is very popular in the capital mainly because he held his police position during the period of major terror attacks there. His chances of winning depend on whether ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemites split their vote. Levy, on retirement leave from the police, declined to be interviewed for this article and said only: "I am scrutinizing the political map, and am waiting for developments."
Bareket vehemently denies that a candidate's economic standing dictates his chances of winning. "By law I can contribute only NIS 5,000 to myself," he says. "I intend to fund my campaign by contributions. I intend to get people to contribute NIS 5,000 each."
Bareket says the real reason the other candidates are hesitating is because of his popularity, which he says the polls show is on the rise. "I am working to unite the Zionist movement in Jerusalem," in response to the strengthening of the ultra-Orthodox camp in the capital, he says. "Jerusalem must be kept pluralistic," he adds, calling the upcoming elections "the last chance" to do so.
In the last elections, Yigal Amedi was Likud's candidate, beating Roni Bar-On, who became finance minister. This year, Amedi does not intend to run for mayor, but will run on Gaydamak's list. Amedi thinks Gaydamak has a real chance. "We are great friends. We became closer following his assistance to sports, culture and employment in Jerusalem," Amedi says. "He has a lot of ability in both the Arab and ultra-Orthodox sectors."
Amedi adds that there is no doubt money talks. "When a person buys a hospital in the capital and wants to plan its economic recovery, that's doing something for the residents," he says, referring to Gaydamak's purchase of the ailing Bikur Holim Hospital. "Bareket has money, so he could invest four years working for the city, and one year preparing for his campaign."
"There is no serious candidate, neither Labor nor Likud nor Kadima. If someone would unite all these people and bring in a big shot, it would be welcome," Amedi says.