"I am one of the almost only mayors in Israel who enjoys wall-to-wall support – from March to Religious Zionism," Bat Yam Mayor Zvika Barut told My City. "When elections come, you suddenly hear different statements, but for five years they sat together and worked great. The city 'doll'. Ahead of these elections, I signed with all the parties that expressed support for me. It says in the agreement that after the elections, any faction that wants to join my coalition will have to give up its agenda and accept mine. Anyone who tries to bring something extreme into my coalition will get kicked out. Anyone who tries in Bat Yam to bring something related to coercion and inequality."
Why didn't you present the agreement with Otzma Yehudit to the public?
"That's not true. Everyone who asked received a full answer. This is simply not true. By law, agreements within factions in the coalition must be submitted to the city council. Agreements with people who are not on the city council you are not supposed to assume. There will be no extremism in Bat Yam on my watch."
Billboards in Bat Yam, photo: Yossi Zeliger
Regarding personal security in Bat Yam, Barut said that relative to Gush Dan, crime in the city is much lower. "It's not something that was when I was a kid," he explains. "But thankfully today we are in a much better situation. Where is the problem? People come from out of town on Fridays and cause noise hazards. These are people from all kinds of places. We're trying to offer advice on how on the one hand to allow people to come and enjoy themselves, and on the other hand we don't want to cause hazards to our residents. We have a central car park which used to be a source of disturbance so we closed it at night. The second thing – cameras.
"I'll tell you an amazing story. I came in for a surprise review in my first week on the job. I enter, and then I see beautiful new screens off. I ask why don't you look at the cameras? I was told there were no cameras. I said then why are there screens? They answered that there had been an operation – the Interior Ministry gave the authorities 'so we bought.' There was only one camera that worked. Since then, in a process that took two years, we have raised four million shekels. Today Bat Yam with a deployment of soon 300 cameras. Besides, we returned a police station to Bat Yam. A year ago it was opened, so security is more significant. In addition, we set up a private security patrol that has been running as a pilot for the past year – we haven't even published it yet."
Benjamin Netanyahu opens the school year in Bat Yam // Photo: Likud Spokesperson's Office
Will you add Bat Yam to the transportation project on Shabbat?
"This is a problem that requires a nationwide solution. We are waiting and waiting for the government's decision on an issue that has remained open for many years. Bat Yam, like other cities, cannot independently join one project or another – and therefore we were in favor of the service taxi reform that the government had already passed and then canceled. Then came a new government that promised it would do it and didn't. We think the government should decide on this issue. And we will make any decision that is made in full."
The mayors of Gush Dan present the Shabbat lines, photo: Coco
Brut was also asked about the clashes in Dizengoff during Yom Kippur prayers. "Even when I saw the confrontation on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv, I was bursting and burning from within," he said. "It took me a second to understand why. I tried to figure out who was wrong here. And I think both sides here missed an opportunity to show that it could have been different. Because on the one hand, we are talking about one day a year when there is prayer here in the public sphere that appeals to everyone and not to a religious audience, and allows the masses to participate in this experience. On the other hand, those who organized it could show that it could have been done differently in a more inclusive and non-precise way."
Could such an event have taken place in Bat Yam?
"I hope not. Our D.N.A. is very different, and I hope for the best. We have a population composition that, on paper, is almost impossible to manage on these issues. A third are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and a large ultra-Orthodox public and a large liberal public and a religious public, a large mix. In recent years, we have seen in other cities Shabbat wars and over religion and state – and there is no such thing in Bat Yam."
The full interview on the "My City" podcast from Israel Hayom. Listen to the episode - and other interesting episodes
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