Jerusalem's new secular mayor Barkat brings Haredim into coalition

Jerusalem's new secular mayor Nir Barkat has brought an ultra-Orthodox faction into his coalition, two weeks after forging one without any Haredi members and one week after taking office.

Barkat's mayoral campaign was galvanized in part by the fight against what many secular Jerusalemites branded the creeping 'haredization,' or ultra-Orthodox takeover, of the capital. On Monday, he expressed satisfaction with the addition of United Torah Judaism party members to his coalition.

"This is another stage en route to a broad, all-encompassing coalition that will enable [us] to embark on a struggle for the future of Jerusalem in a united manner," said Barkat.

The new mayor added that his coalition would focus on achieving budgets, fundraising and reforms. He said it would do this by "channeling great energy into joint ventures to save Jerusalem, and not on internal disputes."

Two weeks ago, Barkat put together a coalition without the ultra-Orthodox factions. The coalition consisted of Meretz, the National Religious Party, Yerushalayim Beiteinu and Hitorerut Yerushalayim.