A Critical Election

The upcoming U.S. presidential election is the topic of the day for Americans, but this American is more focused on the November 11 election for the mayor and city council of Jerusalem. Those of you who have been with me since I started blogging know that the worrisome future of this city is one of the issues in Israel that is closest to my heart. As a secular Zionist who deeply believes in the centrality of Jerusalem to all of the Jewish people, I have stood my ground in this city for twenty three years as residents of my ilk have decamped, in alarming numbers, to the coastal plain. They have abandoned the city because many succesive Israeli governments have abandoned it, denying Jerusalem the resources and attention it needs in order to thrive and succeed as the capitol of the state of Israel and as a city representative of the great diversity of the Jewish people. The vaccuum has, of course, been filled by the ultra orthodox, whose sectarian interests and shtetl mentality have turned Jerusalem into a backward, poor, dirty excuse for an illustrious capitol. This process was accelerated in recent years by the ultra orthodox takeover of the Jerusalem mayor's office. Although Mayor Lupolianski is a very nice man, he is merely a puppet of the ultra orthodox establishment, which, through him, has made itself very clear: ultra orthodox interests supercede the welfare and the future of Jerusalem.

It wasn't always like this. Under the tutelage of Teddy Kollek, who reigned for twenty-eight years as the indefatigueable and undefeatable mayor of Jerusalem, the city experienced impressive development. This was thanks primarily to Kollek's excellent leadership and to the fact that he was utterly devoted to the city - he had no ambitions to move on to national politics from his prestigious office, but considered Jerusalem to be his life's project. At age eighty-two he was finally defeated by Ehud Olmert who, recognizing that his Likud party was temporarily on the downswing during the halcyon days of the peace agreement with the Palestinians, strategically chose to strengthen his political standing by taking a time-out from the Knesset and gaining international prestige throught the office of the mayor of Jerusalem. The position was merely a stepping stone for him, albeit slightly off the beaten path, in his return to national politics. Thankfully, he has reached the end of that road but during his ten years as mayor of Jerusalem he managed to lay the groundwork for the significant deterioration of the city by joining forces with the ultra orthodox political hacks in city hall. When Olmert left they were perfectly positioned to take over the mayor's office.

The secular public of Jerusalem is not without blame in this story, as most of them chose not to vote in the previous elections. However, hopefully many previously apathetic citizens now understand that the upcoming mayoral election is the last chance to save Jerusalem.

Who's running? The ultra-orthodox candidate, Meir Porush, has painted himself in his election posters as a cuddly grandpa but beneath the caricature is the scion of a greedy, manipulative, horse-trading dynasty of politicians whose candidacy is problematic amongst many of the ultra-orthodox subsets themselves. It's not yet clear whether he can garner the unwavering support of the entire sector, which is the only way he can possibly win (the ultras, needless to say, will do whatever their rabbis instruct them to do, whether it's to go out and vote or stay at home).

The jury is still out on Arieh Deri, who has until Tuesday to submit his candidacy. Deri, a well-known, extremely talented ultra-orthodox politician from the Shas party, was convicted of corruption after a meteoric rise on the political scene and went to jail for two years. The law prohibits a person convicted of crimes of 'moral turpitude' for running for political office for seven years, which for Deri means he cannot return to politics until January 2009. He applied to the court to run for mayor on the grounds that when he was convicted, the law required only a five-year waiting period. His request to run was denied and we are waiting to see if he chooses to appeal. If he runs, he will be difficult to beat despite his problematic past. Hopefully he will choose to remain out of the race. Although he is an excellent administrator, ultimately an ultra-orthodox mayor will, first and foremost, look out for the ultra-orthodox interests.

The next candidate is Arcady Gaydamak, who is today a household name in Israel but about whom the less is said, the better. A billionaire Russian oligarch who made his fortune in shady arms deals with Angola and, despite his pretensions to local power, still does not speak Hebrew sufficiently, Gaydamak is a power-hungry, media-exposure freak who sees the state of Israel as his future kingdom. The current polls indicate he doesn't stand a chance; in fact, he might even draw votes away from the ultras. Hopefully, he will not pose a threat.

The man who is going to save Jerusalem is Nir Barkat, a local boy who group up in the city and has an impressive resume of experience in the army, high-tech and education. He is totally, one hundred percent dedicated to bring Jerusalem into the twenty-first century and tapping into the enormous potential the city harbors. He's smart, energetic, driven and actually has a vision of where the city should be in twenty years. He spent the last four years on the city council and is intimately acquainted with the day-to-day issues of running this town. It's true that he's somewhat right-wing but partisan politics are mostly irrelevant in this race. The future divison of Jerusalem will not be up to the mayor to decide, but rather the prime minister and the coalition. The mayor must be able to nurture and grow the city just under the radar of a future agreement with the Palestinians.

Nir Barkat seems to have a good chance of winning - if people come out to vote. It is to this goal that I am wholely devoting myself for the coming weeks. I interrogate every Jerusalemite I meet to make sure they are planning to vote for Barkat. I took my two seventeen-year-old daughters, who are now entitled to vote in mayoral elections, to get the ID cards required for them to cast a ballot. (I also proudly fulfilled my responsibility as a parent by convincing my daughter Shaked to come with me to meet Barkat and hear him speak at a parlor meeting.) I even convinced my father-in-law, a life-long communist, political cynicist and former Tel Avivian who is in a wheel chair, to vote (he doesn't care who wins but he'll do it for me). Those of you who are reading: if you know anyone sane who lives in Jerusalem please contact them and urge them to go out and vote on November 11: Nir Barkat for mayor, and any non-ultra orthodox party for city council. For me, it's as important as a matter of life and death.