Three days after Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Reuven Ladiansky announced his candidacy for mayor of Tel Aviv, he received a letter in which Mayor Ron Huldai informed him that he intended to bring to the City Council approval a decision to terminate his term as deputy mayor.
On Monday, he announced to Diansky that he would run for mayor, but has not yet left his position as deputy. According to him, Huldai's failure to manage the city during his last term is felt everywhere: "The city is promiscuous, it is promiscuous to messianics and extremists, it is abandoned to NTA, it is abandoned to real estate, it is abandoned in everything related to transportation, parking, education and much more."
"There is no relationship of trust." Ron Huldai (archive), photo: Gideon Markowitz
Huldai's response was not long in coming, and he sent him a letter about the intention to get him fired: "On Sunday, I learned that while you supported municipal policy vis-à-vis me and voted, in fact in all those years, you were forced to 'lie in your soul' and boldly support the policy you actually opposed. Indeed, as a political figure you are entitled to express an opinion – even if the day before you expressed and supported the opposite position. Unfortunately, this behavior characterizes many politicians and has become common in our provinces. "Now, I am learning for the first time, after five years together, that there is no relationship of trust and that you oppose the policies and decisions you supported for years," Huldai wrote. This state of affairs does not allow me to cooperate with you, and of course drops the bass for the trust that I thought existed between us – trust that is a basic condition for my ability to delegate my authority to you. In these circumstances, I hereby inform you that I hereby revoke all the powers delegated to you by me."
In the margins, Huldai wrote, "I believed that the basic fairness of someone who announces that he has no confidence in the municipality and its leader will see fit not to be part of the municipal administration and will announce his resignation – on his own initiative."
Reuven Ladyansky, Photo: Eyal Nevo
Reuven Ladyansky said in response: "Huldai fired me from my position after I announced that I would run against him for mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. I told him the whole truth inside. When the city is abandoned by a mayor who has served for 25 years, voting Huldai this time is civic irresponsibility. Huldai knows how to give a speech at Kaplan about democracy and in practice behaves like the last dictator when one of his deputies announces that he will run against him. He knows how to hang the Declaration of Independence on the city hall but makes deals with the Ma'ale Eliyahu Yeshiva behind the backs of secular residents and only after a folding struggle, talks about gender equality and at the same time allows the Jewish Head organization to hold a mass prayer segregated between men and women in Dizengoff Square, gives interviews from every stage as the greatest liberal but pampers the Chabad movement with municipal budgets and allocation of buildings and allows its agents to catch minors outside our schools.
As long as I thought Huldai would voluntarily retire as mayor at the end of his current term, after 25 years in office, I acted patiently and with restraint. But now, about 5 months before the elections, when he announced that he wanted to run for mayor again, I could no longer remain silent."
Tour of the light rail complex in Tel Aviv. Correspondent: Sonia Goroditsky // Photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
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