Nir Barkat Reelected As Yerushalayim Mayor

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barkatThanks to last minute lack of support of two Chassidic groups for the frum challenger, Yerushalayim will remain under the mayoralty of a secular mayor.

Yerushalayim Mayor Nir Barkat has beaten Moshe Leon, who conceded a short while ago.

The secular mayor won a second term in a hard-fought campaign. With 70 percent of the vote counted, Barkat held a commanding lead of 55 percent to 42 percent.

Barkat, a successful former high-tech entrepreneur, was first elected in 2008.

Leon, a former director of the prime minister’s office who until recently lived in Givatayim, was backed by Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri.

Low turnout was thought to favor the religious Leon, as just 36 percent of Yerushalmim voted, compared to a 43 percent turnout nationwide, but in the end, the lack of support of Belz and Ger did him in. Leon was relying on mass support from the chareidi sector, but on Monday, Belz said it would not back Lion, and Deri’s attempt to meet with the Belzer Rebbe was rejected. Ger was also not officially backing Leon, and the Gerer Rebbe said his Chassidim were free to vote as they wish.

Yerushalayim, Israel’s largest city, with 800,000 residents, will thus remain under the direction of Barkat.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}


17 COMMENTS

  1. Perhaps it should be remarked that expecting Lieberman to break with the coalition was delusional. Perhaps it should be remarked that the Russian language flyers of Leon, which stated Barkat had been supporting Haredim at the expense of the secular public, were disgusting, and so was the campaign with photo-ops and shopper bags filled with pork meat at the proudly “lo kasher” markets. Perhaps someone realized it makes no sense to burn bridges with a decent mayor who was going to be reelected, in order to support a candidate which is the expression of our worst and most dangerous enemies.

  2. frum challenger?? where did you come up with that?? he doesn’t consider himself frum at all. no you read wrong ie he was the candidate that the frum parties were supporting until some of the parties – chassiddish as well as litvish – decided not to.

  3. Watching and reading about the elections in Israel , I am amazed at the vehemence of the political process in Israel. It is much more like a wrestling match than a discussion of issues.

  4. Barkat will not be good for a ‘Jewish’ Israel, because he is an internationalist; but we know that Hashem is the one who runs everything and Barkat was put in power because we are nearing very eventful things, as the nations are gearing up against Israel. Just read Tanach and the nevuot and we can understand more or less. Remember, that only H’ rules the hearts and minds of leaders. We have to do teshuvah so that all will go well with the ‘yidden’. Stand with H’, Torah, Bnai Yisrael & Eretz Yisrael, v’yehiye tov!

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