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Last update - 06:38 08/04/2008
Gaydamak's party / Seeking universal appeal
By Lily Galili
Tags: Social Justice party 

One of the key planks in Arcadi Gaydamak's election campaign will be making Jerusalem a free-trade zone, a very sensitive political issue that will be an important component not only in his personal campaign for the capital's mayoralty, but also of his party's future Knesset race.

Haaretz has learned that Gaydamak intends to condition his party's entry into any coalition on approval of this measure. This combination of the personal and the issue-driven, the local and the national, will be the hallmark of the new Social Justice party's campaign.

As the party registrar officially approved the party on Sunday, its campaign will now enter high gear on all three levels: the mayoral race, the municipal elections and preparations for the national elections. It will be aimed at four constituencies: the ultra-Orthodox, Arabs and other minorities, veteran secular Israelis, and Russian immigrants. The plan is to map the needs and weaknesses of each sector and try to offer solutions.
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Gaydamak's rescue of Jerusalem's Bikur Holim Hospital, for instance, could attract support from local ultra-Orthodox, which he hopes could then spread to the ultra-Orthodox in other cities. Yet the campaign posters showing him in front of Bikur Holim are actually aimed primarily at secular and traditional voters.

For Arabs, Gaydamak believes the main issue is the education system. His representatives have met with Arab residents of the capital to discuss establishing a new school there, and he has similar plans for the Bedouin of the Negev.

Overall, the idea is to identify needs and make connections in Jerusalem, use this experience to expand to other municipalities, and then use this nationwide infrastructure for the national elections.

Jerusalem, of course, is the crucial test. He is likely to know soon which ultra-Orthodox sects will support him, but even ultra-Orthodox and Arabs together are not enough to give him the mayoralty. Therefore, Gaydamak is now seeking a lever with which to attract secular Jerusalemites who might otherwise stay home on Election Day.

Jerusalem Arabs also traditionally stay home on Election Day. To get them to the polling booths, Gaydamak has promised to appoint an Arab to a position of influence in the municipality, from which he could advance his community's interests.

Ironically, the most problematic community is turning out to be the one that should be his natural base - Russian immigrants.
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