Jerusalem Municipal Election Thoughts

His prayers were answered:

Nir Barkat was reelected. It was a tough race. Arye Deri and Avigdor Lieberman banded together to unseat Barkat. They thought that they found the man for the job: Moshe Lion. The idea was that all of the ultra-Orthodox community will unite behind the kippah-clad Lion. Many in the national religious camp would vote for him too, as he is "one of them". All that was needed was to convince enough seculars to desert Barkat, and the election would be in the bag.

The plan almost worked. However, the ultra-Orthodox public did not unite 100% for Lion. Some large Hasidic courts did not endorse him. The Bnei Torah faction even ran a candidate of their own for mayor. The final result is five more years of Barkat. Personally, I think that he has been a decent mayor and I hope that he will continue to be fair to all of the different sectors in Jerusalem.

In the council, it is interesting to note that the "United Jerusalem" faction got more mandates (2) than the Jewish Home (1). I hope that Naftali Bennett is paying attention: his attempt to force his cronies on the national religious public here was unsuccessful. I also have a feeling that many voted against the Jewish Home to protest the covenant on the national level with "Yesh Atid".

Rabbi Shmuel Orbach's Bnei Torah faction got a seat in the council which is no small feat. The Tov party, which is just a reincarnation of Po'alei Agudat Yisrael, did not get a seat. Too bad, I was rooting for them even thought I did not vote for them.

Jerusalem Municipal Elections

It;s election time again. Next Tuesday Jerusalem residents will have the opportunity to vote for the mayor and city council.

Unlike the last time around, I'm not to emotionally involved in these elections. I am not excited about voting for or against somebody. Nir Barkat turned out to be a pretty good mayor. As far as I can tell, he has dealt fairly with the various different population sectors here in Jerusalem.

Barkat's main rival in these elections is Moshe Leon. It has been said that politics makes strange bedfellows. Here in Israel, political arch-enemies Arye Deri and Avigdor Lieberman joined forces to run Moshe Leon against Barkat. Leon seems to be a decent guy, but he is an outsider (from Givatayim) who only recently moved here. It is hard for me to get excited about such a candidate, even if he wears a kippah on his head.

The elections for the council also leave very little to be excited about. The National Religious public is running under (at least) two parties. One party is the Bayit Yehudi. The other is the United Jerusalem list headed by Shmuel Shekedi and Arye King. United Torah Judaism has splintered into three different parties: UTJ, Bnei Torah and Tov. Shas remains united and I expect them to do well in the elections. Unity usually pays off.

Tifferet Yisrael Synagogue to be Rebuilt

This is great news! Now that the Hurva has been rebuilt, the time has come for the Old City's main Hasidic synagogue:

The Jerusalem Municipality awarded initial approval to a plan to rebuild the iconic Tifereth Israel synagogue in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, a magnificent domed synagogue from the 19th century which was destroyed in the 1948 War of Independence.

The project will recreate the three-story-tall synagogue as well as the iconic dome on the top, with only minor changes to the original, such as the introduction of an elevator to make the building more accessible. On Tuesday, the municipality’s Local Planning and Building Committee approved the plan for the next step of the process, where it must receive the approval of the Interior Ministry. An anonymous donor who has been active in previous rebuilding projects in the Old City donated nearly NIS 50 million needed for reconstruction, said Shlomi Attias, the Old City project manager for The Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem Ltd. (JQDC). The JQDC is a public company under the auspices of the Ministry of Construction and Housing. The synagogue is located just a few hundred meters from the Western Wall Plaza, in the same plaza as the Hurva.

Ashkenazi hassidim bought the land for Tifereth Israel Synagogue in 1843, though the building wasn’t inaugurated until 1872. The synagogue is also known as the Nissan Bek synagogue, after its founder. The prominent white dome on top of the building was informally known as “Franz Joseph’s cap,” after the Austrian emperor who visited Jerusalem in 1869. On a tour of Jewish sites, Franz Joseph inquired as to why the unfinished synagogue had no dome, to which one quick-thinking rabbi replied, ''Your majesty the Emperor, the synagogue has doffed its hat for you!'' The emperor donated the sum needed to finish the roof.

During the Independence War in 1948, the building was used as a Haganah defense position, similar to the nearby Hurva synagogue. Arab League forces demolished the synagogue with explosives at 1 a.m. on May 21, just a few days before the Hurva met the same fate. Following the Six Day War, the city decided to leave the ruins of the synagogue as they were. “The municipality sees great importance in preserving and rebuilding Jerusalem’s heritage sites,” Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement released by his office. “The Tifereth Israel synagogue was a symbol of the Jewish “Yishuv” (settlement) in Jerusalem and we are proud to bring it back and rebuild it anew.”

The redemption comes little by little!

Barkat Says Jerusalem Parking will Open on Sabbath

From IsraelNN.com:

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said Tuesday evening that the city-operated Safra parking lot would open this coming Sabbath, less than a month after the parking lot closed when Haredi protests on the issue turned violent. He also said the city had asked courts for permission to open the Carta parking lot, near Jerusalem’s old city.

“This is a matter of principle that doesn’t change the status quo,” Barkat claimed. “Consideration and negotiations do not take the place of making decisions when necessary.”

Can I say that "I told you so"? Check my other Barkat related posts.

Mystery Election Poster

Here's an anti Leitzman poster, claiming that "he is to blame." Exactly what he is to blame for the creators of the poster will not tell us. They wrote "he who understands will understand." I have a feeling that it has something to do with the previous municipal elections that Porush lost to Barkat, but I haven't been able to fathom all of the "codes" in the poster. For your consideration:

This May Be Your Last Chance

Will this be the last photo of the bridge before Barkat tears it down?



Okay, he didn't say that he will definitely tear it down. But he might.

Post Election Fallout

19 Marcheshvan 5769



We thought that life was returning to normal, and that the streets of Jerusalem would be clean of political fliers and posters. But it seems that the election process itself, and all the more so the results of the election, have left the ultra-Orthodox community wounded. The pain felt from these wounds is reflected in a post election "paper war" that is "decorating" the city's walls and littering its streets.

It started with wall posters stating the Talmudic dictum that "Jerusalem was destroyed because they disgraced Torah scholars." The poster was signed "The Honor of Torah". This is a somewhat ambiguous poster for one not familiar with Hareidi politics and social codes, but for the rest of us the hint was clear: the race for mayor was lost to the secular candidate (who will bring about the destruction of Jerusalem) because of Meir Porush, who disgraced Torah scholars.

If anyone had doubt as to who and what the posters were referring to, the following day the streets were littered with fliers that were a carbon copy of the wall poster. The difference was that the flier had two sides. The flip side of the flier was an editorial from the Yated Ne'eman newspaper (from the 15th of Cheshvan 5769), which is the mouthpiece of the Degel HaTorah (Lithuanian) faction in Agudat Yisrael. It was a very long editorial, which among other things was a trial in absentia of Meir Porush, although his name was not explicitly mentioned. However, his political crimes were described in detail:

"He acted with public irresponsibility, he caused intense arguments, he divided the public, he turned his back on the great Hasidic leaders and Torah luminaries."

Needless to say the paper found him guilty as charged. The editorial declared Porush as being unworthy to be a public servant for the ultra-Orthodox community.

This of course could not be left without a reply. So today we were greeted on the way to work with a poster singing the praises of Meir Porush. Why wasn't I surprised?

As far as the editors of Yated Ne'eman are concerned, Meir Porush's political career is finished. It will be interesting to see Porush's next move. He is currently a member of the Knesset, but it is now doubtful that UTJ will give him a place on the list for the elections that are scheduled for February. Will he continue in the city council? Will Barkat give him the job as "assistant-Mayor"? Will he split away from UTJ and form a rival party? Time will tell.

Jerusalem Municipal Election Post Mortem

15 Marcheshvan 5769



Jerusalem has a new mayor: Nir Barkat. Those of you that follow this blog know that I supported his rival, Meir Porush. I felt that Porush was much more qualified for the job, and that choosing between the two leading candidates was really a no-brainer. What's more, as a Torah observent Jew, it seemed to me that we are required to choose the God-fearing candidate. Finally, Barkat's record as a political zigzagger along with his affiliation with the ideologically empty and corrupt Kadima party made him one of the last people that I would vote for.

The majority of Jerusalemites that made it to the voting booth felt otherwise and they put the slip with Nir Barkat's name into the envelope for mayor. There were many factors that lead Barkat to victory and Porush to defeat. I'll list a few:

1) Hard work: Barkat worked hard over the past few years in order to get the the mayor's chair. He worked hard to change his image among the city's voters from a native-Israeli Tommy Lapid to an innocuous run-of-the-mill Israeli. He was willing to meet with rabbis and take part in religious ceremonies. (Check out this post from 2005!!!) He succeeded in distancing himself from Kadima and their plans to divide the city.

2) Money: He invested/raised/spent a lot of money on this campaign. Eyal Arad and Li'or Chorev don't work for free.

3) Internal ultra-Orthodox strife: United Torah Judaism was far from unified. The desecration of God's name which Rav Elyashiv was worried about was realized. According to various reports members of the Gur chassidic group not only abstained from voting to Porush, they actually voted for Barkat. Could be.

There are some that will say that this election was the second round of last year's municipal elections in Beitar Ilit. Many UOs can not and did not forget Porush for going against the rabbis that wanted R' Pindrus to continue being mayor of the Hareidi town. Porush won the first round. His candidate got elected. Rav Elyashiv was "mocheil al k'vodo" by supporting Porush's candidacy for mayor. The leader of "Lithuanian Jewry" requested from his flock that they do everything they can to get Meir Porush elected. However, some of Rav Elyashiv's followers were not so forgiving. They were so angry at Porush for going against "da'as Toyre" that they themselves went against "da'as Toyre" by waging an aggressive campaign against him (wall posters, newspapers, fliers) and not voting for him. A true UO paradox!

4) National Religious Support: The national religious vote was certainly divided between the two candidates. This was in spite of the fact that most of the rabbis supported Porush. However, many of the NRs don't listen to rabbis. In the polling station where I voted the Barkat representative was a NR guy. This community, if it can be called one, is leaderless; every man does what is right in his eyes.

5) Secular Support: Porush probably lost any support that he had in this sector after his remark in Yiddish that the Hareidim are multiplying quickly and soon there won't be any "ChiLOYni" mayors in the major cities. Porush forgot that "the walls have ears", and that some of those heimishe guys in the audience have MP3 recorders and digital cameras. This was a silly blunder which may have cost him the mayoralty.

I hereby bless Mr. Barkat on his victory and wish him much success in running our beloved city. Hail to the chief! I hope the Nir Barkat that will be running our city will be the one with covered with a prayer shawl grasping a lulav and not the one wearing a Kadima tee shirt with a cup of beer in his hand.

Nir Barkat - Tax Dodger?

12 Marcheshvan 5769

Someone set up an anti-Barkat web site. The site contains plenty of interesting revelations about the man. I found this one particularly interesting:


For those of you that don't read Hebrew:

"Barkat is an example of smuggling taxes abroad - Barkat used tax shelters in order to dodge paying taxes in Israel (The BRM company that he set up is partially registered in the tax shelter country The Cayman Islands in the Caribbean) and declared that he would not invest in Israeli companies that are not registered abroad, in order to not pay taxes in Israel. " (Ha'aretz, "Kol Ha'ir" 23.5.2003)

A quick Google search reveals the following about The Cayman Islands:

There is no direct taxation imposed on Caymanians and Cayman Island companies. The government receives the majority of its income from indirect taxation. A 20% duty is levied against imported goods. Some items are exempted like baby formula, books and cameras. Duty on automobiles depends on the class and make of the model; duty can reach up to 40% for expensive models. Financial institutions that operate in the islands are charged a flat licensing fee by the government. A 10% government tax is placed on all tourist accommodations in addition to the small fee each tourist pays upon getting on the island.

Barkat's propaganda always mentions how he is a Zionist. Based on the above report, I'm willing to wager that Meir Porush has payed a lot more taxes to the Jewish State over the past ten years than Barkat has. Anyone who considers himself a Zionist should vote for Porush.

Druckman Letter to Barkat: Far From Being an Endorsement

9 Marcheshvan 5769

Some Israeli media outlets are publicizing that Rabbi Chaim Druckman supports Nir Barkat in the Jerusalem mayoral race. However a careful read of the letter that Druckman wrote for Barkat tells an entirely different story:


Here's my translation:

To Mr. Nir Barkat


Much peace and God's blessing!

From my meetings with you concerning Jerusalem, I was very impressed with your seriousness and your sincere desire to devote yourself to guarding the unity of Jerusalem and its Jewish and Zionist identity.

May God help you succeed in this holy task by increasing its population, and guarding its Jewish and Zionist identity.

With the blessing of the Torah and the Land,

Chaim Druckman

The honest reader will see that there is no endorsement here. Rabbi Druckman doesn't even mention the mayoral race. He is simply blessing that Barkat will succeed in guarding the unity, Jewishness, and Zionist identity of Jerusalem.

Let's hope that he does so, but not from the mayor's seat.

More Leading Religious Zionist Rabbis Endorse Porush

9 Marcheshvan 5769

Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, the Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz HaRav has come out in support of Meir Porush:



Other leading rabbis, including Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl and Rabbi Avraham Tzukerman have also came out in support of Meir Porush:



Who is the Dati Leumi who is still going to vote for Barkat?

Shmuel Shkedi Endorses Porush

6 Marcheshvan, 5769

Shmuel Shkedi, the outgoing head of the National Religious Party in the Jerusalem Municipal Council, has endorsed Meir Porush in the upcoming elections for Jerusalem's mayor. The endorsement appeared in the most recent issue of BeSheva. The article is in Hebrew. A money quote:

בזמן שניר ברקת סופר אותנו רק בדרך לקלפי, פרוש היה ועודנו שותף נאמן שנים הרבה לפני שמישהו חלם על האפשרות שהוא יתמודד על ראשות העיר

My translation:

While Nir Barkat counts us only on the way to the ballot box, Porush was and is still a faithful partner many years before anyone dreamed about the possibility that he would run for mayor.

Read the rest and vote for Porush!

The Barkat Zigzag and National Religious Gullibility

The more I learn about Nir Barkat, the more I realize how unfit he is to be Jerusalem's Mayor. The assumption that someone who is a successful high-tech entrepreneur will make a successful mayor is has no legs to stand on. Politics is a totally different game with different rules. Different talents are needed.

Barkat's political career is a series of zigzags. He started with a Tommy Lapid like anti-ultra-Orthodox agenda. After the expulsion from Gush-Katif and the pogrom in Amona, Barkat joined the Kadima party and lead its campaign in Jerusalem. In January 2006 Barkat stated,

"They created a party around my opinions and around my 'I believe'. There is mutual appreciation between Olmert and myself. Kadima is the body that is fit to lead Israel at this time."

Today Nir Barkat is courting the religious Zionists in Jerusalem with a promise of "true partnership". If you believe him I have a great deal for you: There is a bridge that connects Manhattan with Brooklyn that you might be interested in purchasing from me.

What's amazing is that there are National Religious (NR) voters in Jerusalem that are going to vote for Barkat. I am not kidding! There are a variety of reasons for this:

1) Some NRs feel closer to the secular than to the ultra-Orthodox. They spend more time in front of the television than in the Beit Midrash. They are more likely to read Ha'aretz than to open up a Gemara. You can imagine what kind of bizarre Weltanschauung someone like this develops. These characters are the poster children of cognitive dissonance.

2) Some NRs hate Hareidim. It's a shame but it's true. Sometimes this is a result of bad experiences with members of the ultra-Orthodox community. Sometimes it is a result of bad NR education. That is to say, sometimes the NR educators attack the Hareidim in order to justify themselves and their way of life. The results of this type of education are disastrous. (The same thing happens in the Hareidi world. Some of them hate the NRs. They attack the NRs and their way of life in order to justify themselves. Again, the results are a disaster.)

3) Some NRs suffer from a terrible inferiority complex. They feel like second-rate Zionists. (This problem is more prevalent among the over 50 crowd, those that remember Ben Gurion). They search for acceptance from the secular, and will do things that should not be done and say things that should not be said in order to gain favor in secular eyes.

4) Every community has its share of naive and vulnerable people.

Personally, I am going to vote for Meir Porush. No, I don't think that he will deliver on all of his promises. However, the Rambam taught us to choose God fearing people to be our leaders. What's more, if I compare his resume with that of Barkat, there is really no contest. Porush's experience in government, whether it be on a municipal level or whether it be on a national level, far surpasses that of Barkat. "Barkat has the money, but Porush has the receipts." Just as Nir Barkat would not hire an inexperienced programmer to be a project leader in one of his start ups, I will not vote for an inexperienced politician to be my mayor. In a better world, this would be obvious to all. However, in our world of media advisers and media spins, anything can be sold to the gullible. And in a country where a labor union leader is appointed to be the Defense Minister, anyone can be mayor of Jerusalem.

Barkat and Kadima

In a previous post I mentioned that Nir Barkat is a member of the Kadima party. Today I read a letter in an old issue of BeSheva (14 Tishrei 5769) by Eviatar El'ad, Barkat's media adviser. In the letter El'ad claims that Barkat resigned from the Kadima party when the latter decided to make territorial concessions in Jerusalem. Fine.

However, the fact the Barkat chose of his own free will to become a member of the Kadima Party tells us much about the man. If you think about it, Barkat joining Kadima tells us a lot more about him than a collection of campaign slogans and a fat stack of fliers. After all, what is the Kadima Party? It is a political refuge that Ariel Sharon formed for himself after he brazenly ignored the Likud Party's democratically reached decisions against the "disengagement". It is a party devoid of ideology, a collection of politicians that have nothing in common except the desire for power and wealth. To join such a party is disgrace for anyone who has even an iota of integrity and self-respect.

The expulsion of Jews from the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria was a crime against the Jewish People in general and those Jews that lived there in particular. Kadima was formed by the perpetrators of that crime. Someone who joined such a party is not fit to be Jerusalem's dog catcher, and all the more so Jerusalem's mayor. Sorry Nir, you are not going to get my vote.

Maimonides Endorses Meir Porush?

As the Jerusalem mayoral race heats up, the conventional wisdom is that the secular public will vote overwhelmingly for the secular candidate Nir Barkat, whereas the ultra-Orthodox publice will do likewise for Meir Porush. With regards to the National Religious community, things are not clear. Both Barkat and Porush have a special staff (Mateh) of National Religious supporters.

It seems to me that according to Jewish Law, one should vote Porush. The Rambam states in the Laws of Kings and Wars (1:9) that:

וכל מי שאין בו יראת שמיים, אף על פי שחכמתו מרובה, אין ממנין אותו למינוי מן המינויין שבישראל

And anyone who is not God fearing, even though his wisdom is great, is not to be appointed to any position among the positions of (the people of) Israel.

Disclaimer: I am far from a Torah scholar and I haven't asked one if this law applies to the municipal election. Food for thought, and a question for your local Orthodox rabbi.

Anti Barkat Graffiti

The graffiti says, "Barkat is dangerous for Jerusalem". Who knows, perhaps the guy who wrote this is correct. Barkat is after all a member of the Kadima party! However, I don't know why the guy who wrote this thinks he has the right to deface the city. IMHO, people like this are dangerous for Jerusalem!

Not National, Not Religious

18 Tishrei, 5769 (3rd day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot)



A pretty disgusting ad in BeSheva from the "National Leumi Staff for Nir Barkat". It is a bad example of mudslinging against Meir Porush. If the people who created this ad call themselves "National Religious, I wonder: What nation do they belong to and what religion do they practice?

Jerusalem Mayor Wannabees on the Web

16 Tishrei, 5769 (1st day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot)

The Mayoral race in Jerusalem is heating up. We are seeing more and more posters, advertisements and unfortunately...graffiti. The net is also a battleground: The two major candidates, Meir Porush and Nir Barkat both have web sites and even blogs:

Meir Porush's web site and blog

Nir Barkat's web site and blog

More of Barkat's Head Has Been Removed

6 Tishrei, 5769

I mentioned that in last week's issue of BeSheva, Jerusalem mayoral hopeful Nir Barkat had the top part of his head chopped off. I presumed that the reason for the head-cut is to prevent the religious readers from seeing Nir's kipah-less head. This week they chopped off even more of his head:


If they are already playing games with graphics, why don't they just do this?:



I bet it will get him a lot of votes. :)

The Barkat Campaign

3 Tishrei, 5769 (The fast of Gedaliah)

I mentioned in a previous post the ingenuity of Meir Porush's campaign. Today's post will deal with the flip side of the coin. How does Nir Barkat market himself to the religious public?

This advertisement in the national-religious Besheva weekly newspaper gives us the answer: Off with (the top) of his head!



The average religious reader isn't foolish. He knows that Nir Barkat doesn't sport a yarmulke which by chance got cropped out of the picture. However, by cutting off the top of his head, Barkat's advertising firm dulled the brazenness of Barkat's bare-headed appearance in the eyes of the religious public.

Such is politics in Israel. I can't wait till this is over!

And BTW, check out what is going on in Beit Shemesh.