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Alon Davidi: "It is not enough to survive in a crisis, we need to think ahead" Israel today

2021-02-04T10:55:05.191Z


| political The mayor of Sderot talks about the decision to join Bennett • "You see the total chaos at the national level and suffocate - we must give hope after the crisis" Alon Davidi Photography:  Liron Moldovan Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot, was identified with the Likud and he runs a city with more than 50 percent of the vote for the ruling party. His joining to the right raised a lot of eyebrows


The mayor of Sderot talks about the decision to join Bennett • "You see the total chaos at the national level and suffocate - we must give hope after the crisis"

  • Alon Davidi

    Photography: 

    Liron Moldovan

Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot, was identified with the Likud and he runs a city with more than 50 percent of the vote for the ruling party.

His joining to the right raised a lot of eyebrows.

In the preliminary talks with the residents of Sderot ahead of the interview we had with him, which will be published in full tomorrow in "Israel Hashavua," Davidi's opponents also admit that his seven years are one of the best the city has ever known.

Sderot is thriving and growing in height, and a ride with Davidi along the main street sounds like a YouTube ad slipping: "Here's the new resilience center," "Here's a new park," "Here's a new school.

"Before the Corona we were in excellent shape - five to six percent unemployment, and suddenly we grew to 17 percent. I could say 'this is not my problem, employment is a government, not a municipality', but in the Corona there were also budgets we did not spend. We issued a call for training companies. "Hi-tech and I said 'teach them something fast, and most importantly - it will lead to placement at work, just placement.' When people get into a crisis you have to help them immediately, but a minute later you also have to think about what they will do next."

The Mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, announced his joining the right, today // Photo: Ariel Zandberg

On the decision to join Naftali Bennett, even though he was a Likud member all those years, Davidi says: "I read the right-wing economic plan, and it details how to bring the business sector as a force. In a crisis, ordinary things do not work.

"In the Corona crisis it exploded for me, because I see what can be done in local government and you see the total chaos at the national level and the disconnect. It is not enough just to survive or live in the crisis, one has to give hope, think seven steps forward, after the crisis. I tell you "I'll be there for it. Commitment to people is something I go with, not just say 'revolution in Sderot'. It's not me, it's us."

During the tour with him, Ofir Libstein, head of the Sha'ar Hanegev Council from Kfar Aza, joins us, and the two talk about their joint plans for the future.

Among other things, Davidi talks about "a train that will be a land port. Every day 10,000 people will enter from Gaza. Do you know what millions of shekels of salaries will do to Gaza?"

Are you talking about a common industrial area with Gaza?

It's talking to Hamas.

Forgot which party you are in?

Davidi: "Our job as leadership is to allow and give opportunities. If we do not succeed, it is something else. I do not understand Hamas, they are sitting on the ground and doing nothing for their people. The importance of such an area is not to Gaza, but to us on this side of the fence."

Liebstein: "It's not science fiction, it's very advanced. In general, Davidi's worldview does not come from weeping and misery but from a position of power and strength, very much connects to the whole perception of the kibbutzim here. It is to showcase the strengths of the area, "And if Davidi can bring it to the national level, it will be a huge force for change."

The full interview tomorrow in the "Israel Hashavua" supplement

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-02-04

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