Political mavens may be interested in stories from Israel's local elections.
There was personal drama, and work for activists, but not likely to be anything wrenching. We must remember that this is a small country, whose Jewish majority identifies more strongly with the nation than with their localities. Almost all the power for significant decisions (who gets what) lies with national ministries. The biggest stuff deals with national defense, prospects for peace, and now the impact of world economic problems. Mayors and local councils have no roles in those issues. Tip O'Neill's "All politics is local" does not apply to a place like this.
Nevertheless, there were some juicy details.
Jerusalem got most of the attention, where one of the major candidates was a secular businessman who sought to "take the city back from the ultra-Orthodox." He looked for support among the right as well as the left and center, and from religious Zionists, by indicating support for expanding Jewish neighborhoods eastward.
His major opponent was an ultra-Orthodox Knesset member with a long white beard, seeking to continue the rule established by the retiring ultra-Orthodox mayor, whose trademarks were a cherubic smile and a short dark beard.
Also running was a Russian "oligarch," who had been a billionaire but recently lost most of the money he earned selling arms to Angola. He spoke in broken English with an occasional word in Hebrew, and made a name for himself by buying Jerusalem's most prominent football team, aiding low-income Israelis in the north hurt by rocket attacks from Lebanon, and low-income Israelis in the south who suffered under rocket attacks from Gaza. He was under investigation for economic infractions in Israel. Due to the investigations and considerable debts, he was restricted from leaving the country. In recent years he was not able to travel anywhere but Russia and Angola due to international arrest warrants issued by France.
A well-known bohemian ran as a "real secularist" on the ticket of the marijuana party.
Ultimately the secular businessman polled 52 percent, the ultra-Orthodox 43 percent, the Russian a bit less than 4 percent, and no news about the bohemian.
In Tel Aviv a communist member of Knesset challenged the social democratic incumbent. It was also a case of young versus established, a green candidate urging the construction of modest apartments for young people against a regime that he identified with building high rise luxury apartments for the newly rich. The incumbent won 48 percent of the vote against the upstart's 35 percent.
Beer Sheva is justifiably off the main tourist track, but got headlines when its long serving and aging mayor was challenged by the young man he had nurtured as his deputy. The campaign turned ugly, or funny, when there appeared a fabricated notice of the incumbent's death: "With great sorrow we announce the sudden death of our husband, father, and grandfather . . . There will be a separate announcement about the time of the funeral. The family will sit memorial week at home."
The death did not occur, but the incumbent received only 30 percent of the vote, against his challenger's 60 percent.
It is most likely that, as in the past, the residents of Arab cities and towns voted heavily for parties identified with one or another locally dominant extended family.
The success of the businessman will make secular Jerusalemites feel like African Americans after the election of Barack Obama. It is too early to know whether garbage pick up will be more frequent, or if there will be more flowers in public spaces. Gardening will depend more on this winter's rains than anything else in a time of extended drought. The winner has promised to be mayor of "all the people," and will not be able to overlook one-third of the Jewish population that is ultra-Orthodox.
National ministries of finance and interior will continue to determine the charges for local taxes as well as the size and major details of the municipal budget. City planning will depend on committees beholden to the national ministry of interior. The national housing ministry will decide about new neighborhoods. The national ministry of transportation will have the final say about traffic patterns, including whether streets will be one-way or two-way, and areas set aside for parking. The national ministry of education will continue to determine school curriculum and the salaries of teachers. The national police will decide about celebrations of gay pride. The prime minister and national government may get around to defining the city's boundaries in negotiations with the Palestinians.
So far no news about voting in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Shortly before the election, a Muslim religious leader called for yet another boycott of the Zionist regime. If the pattern of previous years repeated itself, Arab turnout was negligible. Individuals can vote in local elections where they are residents, without having to be citizens. Collectively, the Arab neighborhoods could select 30 percent of the city council and be crucial in choosing the mayor. If they did not vote, chances are they will continue to complain that their neighborhoods are poorly served. You get what you vote for. If you do not vote, you do not get.
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Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Department of Political Science
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Home tel: 972-2-532-2725
Cell phone: 054-683-5325
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msira@mscc.huji.ac.il