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October 31, 2008
Politics at the market
Residents weigh up the city's mayoral hopefuls.
RHONDA SPIVAK
Jerusalem's bustling Mahaneh Yehudah market has long been considered a place to measure the political pulse of the city. Here, Jewish shopkeepers and customers bargain for vegetables and fruit and trade opinions on every issue under the sun. Everyone here has at least one opinion about the upcoming elections for mayor of Jerusalem, which will be held on Nov. 11.
One candidate, who is favored by non-religious, as well as by many modern Orthodox Jews, is Nir Barakat. He is the current leader of the Jerusalem city council's opposition. He ran unsuccessfully against ultra-Orthodox Uri Lupolianski in the last municipal election.
Before entering politics, Barakat was a successful businessman in the high-tech sector. His platform has focused on plans to create a larger metropolitan area to enable a stronger infrastructure for the capital's businesses and tourists, as well as trying to reverse Jerusalem's demographic trends – most of the capital's population is now made up of non-Zionist, ultra-Orthodox Jews and Arabs. Barakat has also committed to renouncing the salary of nearly $110,000 if elected mayor.
Yaacov Shmuel, who has a small candy store, said he supports Barakat because "Barakat is wealthy.... He doesn't need the money, and he has done good things for everyone."
"Barakat is the best for the city. This time, I think he has a chance, because the national religious will vote for him, not just the secular Jews. The national religious Jews don't want another ultra-Orthodox mayor, so this time they'll come out to vote," said Avraham Avram, a modern Orthodox Jerusalemite, who runs a bakery in the market.
Noam Bar-Nachum, a young Sephardi Jerusalemite who lives downtown, said, "The current Charedi [ultra-Orthodox] mayor has neglected every one of us. Jerusalem has fallen behind economically. There aren't enough good jobs or affordable housing to keep young people here. Even the Dati'im Leumim [National Religious] realize this. This time, more of them will come out to vote for Barakat. It's those of us who aren't ultra-Orthodox or Arab who have to shoulder paying most of the municipal taxes."
In the old city, Armenian Christian photographer Kevork Kahvedjian is not optimistic about Barakat winning, although he supports him. "I hope Barakat wins because he isn't religious. But even if the secular vote turns out for him, the religious candidate [Meir Porush] will win. The ultra-Orthodox make up 35 per cent of the population of Jerusalem, and soon they will be 40 per cent. As long as the government keeps on handing out child allowances, the ultra-Orthodox population will continue to grow."
Barakat's chances of success increased when a Jerusalem district court ruled that Aryeh Deri, the former chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party was not able to run as a candidate for mayor, because he been convicted of bribery and fraud. Many believe that the charismatic Deri would have had a better chance of beating Barakat than Porush, a Knesset member from the United Torah Judaism party. Porush's entire career has been based solely on advancing Charedi sectarian interests, and he has little appeal to the non-Orthodox sectors of Jerusalem.
Although the polls show that Barakat leads Porush, historically the ultra-Orthodox have been better at getting out their vote, and this may yet again prove to be a deciding factor.
As Naomi Sery, a government worker in Jerusalem, who plans on voting for Barakat said, "This time the seculars better come out to vote. We can't afford to have another Charedi mayor. It could be our last chance to change directions."
Rounding out the field is a Russian-born billionaire businessman and philanthropist Arkadi Gaydamak. In February 2007, Gaydamak created a new Israeli social movement, which became the Social Justice political party last July.
Gaydamak, who is popular with Jerusalem soccer fans since he owns the city's soccer team, Beitar Jerusalem, is not expected to win, but that doesn't stop Yaacov Chayim, a vegetable seller in Mahaneh Yehudah from supporting him. "Look, all of the candidates running for mayor are corrupt and crooked. I support Gaydamak. He is the most righteous one of them," he said.
Another Jerusalemite in the shuk said, sarcastically, "Maybe Ehud Olmert should run again for Jerusalem's mayor, since he's going to be out of a job soon."
Rhonda Spivak is a freelance writer who divides her time between Winnipeg and Israel.
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