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Moshe Leon: "We turn Jerusalem into a high-tech brand" | Israel today

2021-09-17T06:22:13.637Z


Three years as mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon recalls those who sought to frustrate him on the way to the position: "They tried to turn everything I did into a combo" • In an interview he tells how he dealt with Balfour protesters who blocked his way home: "I put on a hat, Regarding stopping the flight of residents: "When we reach thousands of apartments a year, immigration will be positive, young couples wanted to stay and had nowhere to live" • And do not be alarmed by the disputes around the city's eastern neighborhoods:



During the stormy protest in Balfour, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon opposed demonstrations in front of the Prime Minister's House, demanding that the activists - on both sides - move to the Rose Garden. : When there were large demonstrations, the hard core would stop under the house of Moshe Leon, two blocks from Balfour, and first demonstrate there.


"One evening," says Leon, "I came home from work and the street was blocked. Protesters walked on the road and stood under my house. I hurried to a council meeting, I could not stay. I got out of the car, put on a hat, walked with them and was actually absorbed in the demonstration." If it was a scene in "Stisel" he would also be reading derogatory chants, but so far. When the act was exhausted, the protesters continued to Balfour, and Leon to his home and work.


There is something symbolic in this conduct, on the part of one who made a lot of noise before being elected to the post, and now prefers to reap achievements with maximum silence. In 2013, Leon ran in the Jerusalem mayoral election for the first time, won one seat on the council but lost to Nir Barkat by only a seven percent margin. That campaign was accompanied by voices of delegitimization and harsh statements, partly due to Leon's residence until that year in Givatayim. Behind the scenes it was then claimed that the opponent Barkat was responsible for the bitter campaign.


During the term they actually cooperated, and also in the second round which came five years later.

In the 2018 municipal elections, Leon again ran over Ofer Berkowitz and Zeev Elkin by a margin that required a second round.

In the end, Leon defeated Berkowitz by a narrow majority and received the crown, although he did not enter the city council.


You have barely reached the summit, you do not have a single seat on the council, but a coalition train is thriving.

Explain to me this contradiction.


"I was not known before I was elected, and there was demonization around my name and delegitimization around my very running for mayor. In those, they missed my abilities and what I did until that day. Once I was elected my skills started to come out. Everyone who knew me, and no. "No matter what population, he did not understand this delegitimization."


The fear towards you also stemmed from the connections with Deri and Lieberman who supported you.


"They supported me and the Likud and many others, and those who supported did not do it because of politics but because of their abilities. I did many roles before I came to the municipality, tried to take everything I did and become a negative combo. I knew myself and knew what I was supposed to do in Jerusalem. That's what I do".

"For construction everywhere."

Sheikh Jarrah, Oren Ben Hakon


There is where to spend Saturday


Leon, next month at 60, is a lawyer and economist by education and an accountant by profession.

He was previously co-manager of one of the largest and most successful offices in the country, an office he left to become Benjamin Netanyahu's economic adviser after being elected prime minister.

He later held a number of political management positions.


How do you run a council when elected without a list?


"I made a wall-to-wall coalition, except for the 'awakening' everyone entered. From Meretz to the ultra-Orthodox, religious Zionism, everyone. The coalition is strong and stable because you must run the city at the end. "You were elected with 6 or 7 seats, which is a great achievement, you still have to get most of the time from wall to wall, and you need all the factions with you. The bottom line is everyone wants to do good for Jerusalem and take care of the population they represent, .


How does religious Zionism sit with Meretz?


"It is not one at the expense of the other. There are both Meretz residents in Jerusalem and religious Zionism, no one is threatened. Living side by side. The first clause I included in the coalition agreement is status quo, I knew in advance that I was going for consensus, for understandings between the parties."


What advice would you give the prime minister?


"As someone who has been the director general of the Prime Minister's Office in the past, I tell you - it is impossible to compare a mayor with a prime minister. I spend a lot of time in dialogue. A large part of my time is devoted to dialogue. "Here is politics and if you want to do something good for the city, you need to understand what the other side wants and bridge between everyone. Jerusalem is one of the most pluralistic cities in the world, everyone understands that the status quo needs to be maintained."


And if there are no agreements?


"Then there are those who decide."


Is it hard to be secular in Jerusalem?


"Jerusalem will never be Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv will never be Jerusalem. It is an amazing city to live in. There are many seculars here who know what to do here on Shabbat. I know seculars who come here on Shabbat because they love the Jerusalem Shabbat. There is also a place to hang out, not in quantities. Of Tel Aviv, but everyone can find their place here. "


And there is still negative migration from the city.


"The negative immigration trend has been declining since I was in office. The main reason for this trend is the need for employment and housing."


Housing and employment are at the center of future Jerusalem development plans.

In the last decade, we have built 2,000 apartments a year in the capital according to an outline inherited by Leon.

He explains that last year the gap between negative immigration and those joining the city was reduced by a thousand, and promises that next year there will be 5,000 construction starts.

"I promise you that as soon as I reach thousands of apartments a year - immigration will be positive. Young couples wanted to stay and had nowhere to live. We are now moving neighborhood-neighborhood with urban renewal, starting in Kiryat Yuval, Kiryat Moshe, Gila, Katamonim.


"At the same time I am building employment towers. There are currently one and a half million meters of construction workplaces across the city, there is currently high-tech in Jerusalem but it will rise in level and compete with the center of the country. We are currently building 270,000 meters "Hi-tech," Leon says, and I do not understand a word.

"It is high-tech that needs academic assistance, it is not just in Givat Ram. It is an ecosystem of the Hebrew University that is one of the 100 leading universities in the world."


In this specific project, Leon is proud that ten floors of the first building have already been sold before construction begins.

In terms of employment, the place is expected to provide work and pay off for companies that are going to pay half the tax rate.

Beyond that, Leon builds on the prestige of the Eternal Capital: "Every self-respecting company will want to have a branch here, because Jerusalem is a brand. Once built, companies will enter. Companies should be here because the city becomes a high-tech brand."


What about government ministries?

In the past it was said that they would return to the capital.


"We are preparing plans together with the government to do it in large quantities. It is not from today to tomorrow, it takes its time because it needs to be built, it is neither a year nor two years."

The scene of the stabbing attack, this week,


You do not turn tables on it.


"I am not in favor of a quarrel. I have regular contact with the finance people and the property manager. In the next two years you will see a significant shift in building government offices. There is a desire to move certain offices that have no space for them. We will move more of his units here, as well as the Ministry of Internal Security and parts of the Ministry of Economy - there are quite a few such offices. "


Feeling a shift even in the railway sector, the city is full of works.

What do you expect?


"There is a long-term and a short-term range, these are two lines. The red line that expands in the direction of Hadassah and Neve Ya'akov will end at the end of 2022, and we are slowly starting to see finishes of the green line that will revolutionize the city. Jerusalem will be greener." "In Malcha, and in fact the conduct of a private car in the city will be superfluous. At the beginning of 2023, it will be possible to see the first parts ready."


And who comes from out of town?


"For this purpose, the parking lots are under the buildings of the nation, and construction is also underway on Givat Mordechai and Mount Scopus."


The property tax in Jerusalem is one of the highest in the country.

How is the collection here?


"There are 950,000 residents here. More than 300,000 Arabs, more than a third are ultra-Orthodox, and a third are a general and religious Zionist population. So it is clear that some of the ultra-Orthodox population are exempt by law, and also in the east of the city. "From the compensation for the exemptions you get back from the state so that you can create a balanced budget. What comes out of this is that the city has a balanced budget that provides appropriate services to the residents."


When there is a non-productive population the citizen is hurt?


"It may be affected by non-level service. This is not happening with us. Look at the cleaning revolution and the infrastructure revolution that did not miss the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods and the east of the city. Jerusalem is clean today."


Development as an answer to terrorism


What's your relationship with East City?


"I am there several times a week, meeting with the residents."


In which neighborhoods?


"Beit Hanina, Shuafat, Jabal Mukaber, Umm Tuba, Issawiya. In the Old City also on Saturdays. The investments in the light rail, on the roads - I am scattered throughout the city and there is no neighborhood that does not get what it deserves."


What about construction on the plane hill?


"It has already passed the marketing of the Israel Lands Administration and is in the planning and ascent stages, also in the Shmuel Wall. There are approvals from the committees and we are going to build it. Atarot will also start to be built in the coming year. The French Hill as well."


What about construction in E1?

This is not your jurisdiction but indirectly affects the sovereign and security status of Jerusalem.


"I am in favor of construction in E1 and in Ma'ale Adumim and everywhere, but I take care of construction in Jerusalem. I remember when I was still CEO, the Prime Minister's Office talked about construction in E1."


What is your position regarding the residence of Jews in Sheikh Jarrah?


"The issue is being dealt with by the court, which must make its decision.

I am in favor of Jews living everywhere in the city, both in the East and in the West.

We see a significant Jewish settlement in the Old City and I am in favor of Jews also living in Sheikh Jarrah, of course.

If they own?

for sure".


How do you make up for gaps when you are always out of collection?

The grant does not compensate for everything.


"The government is helping. In the last three years, I have been able to achieve large budgets for the benefit of the city. I have increased it by about 250 million a year."


And that's thanks to your connections?


"I do not think, at first I got it from Kahlon, then it was with Katz, now with Lieberman - I actually talked to him the least about the budget. I sit with the officials, show the built-in problem with collection here and reach agreements."

"A revolution in the city."

The light rail in Jerusalem, Oren Ben Hakon


Are you in touch with Lieberman and Deri today?


"Obviously, I am in contact with Lieberman and Deri and also with Bennett and Netanyahu and every minister or MK from the Likud."


But there was a strong alliance with Lieberman and Deri.


"It was just seen in the media, that's how they tried to switch. Both with Gideon Saar, for example, had good relations and with others. I did not enter the mayoral election without a resume. I knew and knew who the politicians and who the parties were. I was in good contact with everyone."


How long have you been aiming for the job?

Anyone who is in politics knows what the next goal is.


"Really aiming? Three months, but it's constantly pecking. Since 1997 when I was director general of the Prime Minister's Office, and then when I was head of the Jerusalem Development Authority.

I love the city, it is the most beautiful, most challenging and most important city in the world.

This role fills my whole world. "


So will you compete in two years?

This time you will not remember three months earlier.


"I hope this time I don't remember at all," he laughs.


Will there be a single candidate?


"In an election anything can happen. Today I already have receipts for what I did, and I still have a lot to do. And seriously, it's irrelevant. It's too early to mess with it."


This week, Jerusalem made headlines after two ultra-Orthodox youths were slightly injured in a stabbing attack near the central bus station on Jaffa Street in the city. Leon, who remembers the previous escalation in Jerusalem at the beginning of Operation Wall Guard, is convinced that the security forces will do their job to keep the residents and tourists safe. For him, "Our answer to terrorism is to strengthen the building and development of Jerusalem." 

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-09-17

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