Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat is stepping down after two terms in office to pursue a seat in the Knesset at the next general election. His departure opens a race for one of the most desirable jobs in Israel.
The mayor of Jerusalem not only runs Israel’s largest city but has a high-profile role on the international stage.
Unlike other precarious political positions in Israel, the mayor has five uninterrupted years in office and a high chance of being re-elected as an incumbent.
With several months to go until the election on October 6, six candidates so far have announced they are running and at least five others are considering jumping in.
The two main questions hovering over the race are whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will endorse a candidate, and whether Strictly Orthodox rabbis will decide to field a candidate of their own or form an alliance with one of the non-Charedi candidates.
Mr Netanyahu will want to be sure he is backing the eventual winner and, if he is unsure, may choose not to endorse anyone.
The rabbis, meanwhile, prefer not to have a Charedi candidate and are trying to persuade one of the front-runners to promise a clampdown on raucous night-life spots in the Mahane Yehuda market and the restaurant compound in the old train station, which is open on Shabbat, in return for their support.
Pick a candidate to get started:
Zeev Elkin
Moshe Leon
Ofer Berkovich
Nachman Shai
Yossi Deutsch
Yitzhak Pindrus
Kobi Kahlon
Rachel Azaria
Zeev Elkin
Likud’s Environment Minister, who also holds the Jerusalem Affairs portfolio in the cabinet, announced his candidacy last month. Mr Elkin has the advantages of cabinet experience and representing the largest party. But he isn’t Likud’s official candidate — yet. Mr Netanyahu is reportedly irritated at his confidante’s decision to run against his wishes, and may withhold his endorsement and party funding.
Mr Elkin is also not a Jerusalemite (though he has recently moved his address there) and will be accused of being a carpetbagger looking for a cozy sinecure.
Moshe Leon
A city council member who ran for mayor in 2013 and came second, Mr Leon is backed by powerful politicians including Shas leader Arye Deri and Yisrael Beitenu boss Avigdor Lieberman. In the previous election he received most of the Strictly Orthodox vote.
He is also close to Mr Netanyahu, for whom he once worked as director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office.
He has lived in Jerusalem for five years but is still considered by many locals as an outsider parachuted in to serve the interests of his patrons.
Ofer Berkovich
The 35-year-old council member and former deputy mayor is the most prominent local activist and, unlike Zeev Elkin and Moshe Leon, a secular candidate. He is popular with his constituency for being a true Jerusalemite who has devoted his short public career to the city.
However, secular Jerusalem is shrinking and Mr Berkovich will find it difficult to make alliances with other sectors.
Nachman Shai
At 72, the veteran Zionist Union (Labour) MK wants to end his long public career in the mayor’s office but has yet to formally announce. He has a high public profile but Labour’s endorsement would hardly be a boost in a city as right-wing and religious as Jerusalem.
Yossi Deutsch
A deputy mayor of the Chasidic wing of United Torah Judaism party who would be the main Strictly Orthodox candidate if the rabbis decide to field one. He has held various posts in City Hall for over two decades but despite his desire to run and having a decent chance, he will only run if he gets the rabbinic thumbs-up.
Yitzhak Pindrus
As the deputy mayor, he is currently the second most powerful man in City Hall and a former mayor of the Charedi town of Beitar Illit. As a representative of the Lithuanian wing of United Torah Judaism, he will have to wait his turn to run for mayor, but if the rabbis fail to agree on a joint candidate, he may get his chance.
Kobi Kahlon
Another former deputy mayor, now a private businessman, who was in charge of the complex city planning brief. He is potentially the most experienced candidate and, crucially, brother of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
Rachel Azaria
A young, charismatic Modern Orthodox MK from Mr Kahlon’s Kulanu Party, and a former deputy mayor and council member, who chas hampioned young families and working mothers. She would be the first serious female candidate for mayor, if she runs — both an advantage and a drawback in such a heavily religious city.
