All cities in the country are feeling the preparations for the municipal elections. Political deals, campaigns, slogans and election promises. Everyone is fighting for the votes of the voters and pouring money.
But it seems that the ultra-Orthodox cities are on a completely different planet in this respect. There in almost all places the game is pre-rigged.
The ultra-Orthodox cities are located on a completely different planet (archive), photo: Lior Mizrahi
The vote is predictable, and the municipality is already in the hands of a certain politician. The passionate dramas take place in the national political arena and over the heads of citizens who in any case do not take part in decisions that affect their lives in every aspect.
The only variable behind the battles of Hasidim, Lithuanians and Spaniards is the map of interests of politicians seeking to conquer objectives.
As part of the series "In the Land of Choice," we spoke with citizens living in ultra-Orthodox cities that serve as a rigged political game between the heads of the ultra-Orthodox parties. And we heard from them how they feel about the municipal elections.
Kiryat Ya'arim - Telz-Stone
In the previous elections, Degel HaTorah dropped Yitzhak Ravitz into the city and appointed him to head the council. The person who was very hurt by the move was Avraham Rosenthal, the former head of the council, who heard about his ouster from the media. After long negotiations, he was given the chairmanship of the council for only one more year. But Ravitz took office sooner than he thought, after the head of the council passed away. There were those around him who noted that the division and anguish contributed their part.
Took office faster than he thought. Yitzhak Ravitz, Kiryat Ye'arim-Telz Stone, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Today, there does not seem to be anyone who can remove the popular mayor from office. Although rumors report Yosef Taib of Shas as a candidate for the party.
Ruth Cohen, a mother of five from Kiryat Ya'arim-Telz-Stone, shares with us: "The mayor doesn't try hard enough for the residents. I would definitely like to have other candidates against him. The feeling is that it is much more important to him how he is portrayed in the media than the good of the residents."
Modiin Illit
The place of current Mayor Yaakov Guterman for another term is cast in iron, despite 20 long years of single rule. Over the years, there were no mayoral elections in the ultra-Orthodox city until 2013, when the opposition B'nai Torah party forced mayoral elections. In this election, the incumbent mayor received 85% support.
"In the past, there were no elections at all, because Guterman was afraid of it, and reached an agreement with all the factions on an equal distribution." says Menachem Kuldetzky, a journalist on the "Ha-Hadash" website and a resident of the city.
There were no mayoral elections until 2013, when the opposition intervened. Yaakov Guterman, Modi'in Illit, Photo: Dudi Vaknin, Yossi Zeliger
"In recent terms there were elections, and most of the city's residents are those who obey the great men of Israel blindly. We don't vote – we vote. I personally obey Israel's greats in Knesset elections, but in municipal elections it's like a house committee that even in our building never wants to be replaced.
"There's no doubt that Guterman has many advantages because he has a lot of connections and experience, so it's also difficult to replace him. The residents here receive property tax discounts without much bureaucracy and also expand the apartment without much trouble, but when it comes to personal contact with the residents and media interviews, Guterman completely abandoned this.
"For example, there are three newspapers here, all filled with advertisements, because they all receive advertisements from the municipality and Kavim and the HMOs. There are no articles at all. There are claims here that the mayor did not care enough about a second entrance to the city and there is only one road, and therefore there are traffic jams that do not exist in any other city. Because of the widening work on the road, which may be completed in four years, residents are stuck in traffic jams for two or three hours within a five-minute drive. There are also claims that there are not enough gardens and the city is not well maintained enough.
Many Avrachim announced that they would not go out to vote (Archive), photo: Nati Shochat
"On top of these claims, a businessman named Yehuda Weissfish is trying to make an effort to use connections in the rabbis' homes so that they will elect him mayor instead of Guterman, but Guterman apparently has more connections and it will be difficult to move him out of the city."
So will we see 100% voting and support?
"I think not. I hear for the first time Bnei Torah rabbis who have apparently been stuck for hours in traffic jams declaring that they will not go to vote. If the elections go well, Guterman could be elected with a majority of 50% instead of the 84% he received in the previous elections in the city.
"There is no doubt that the residents here would like to have more candidates to challenge the mayor who, if he had a competition, would try harder for the residents. But as long as Guterman has the full backing of the rabbis, I don't think there's any chance of replacing him."
Elad
The current mayor, who has been in office for a decade, is Israel Frosh, son of Jerusalem and Tradition Minister Meir Frosh, and he will probably run for another term. Yehuda Butbul will face him on behalf of the Shas faction. As far as Shas is concerned, Frosh's rule in a city with a Mizrahi majority is a stain that must be erased.
About five years ago, the Degel HaTorah faction signed an agreement with the Shas faction, according to which in the upcoming elections the Lithuanian faction will support a Shas representative for mayor.
As far as Shas is concerned, his rule in a city with a Mizrahi majority is a stain that must be erased. Israel Frosh, Elad, Photo: Gideon Markowitz, Coco
Despite the agreement signed with Shas, the Degel HaTorah faction blatantly violated it and declared support for Israel as mayor of Elad, who even enjoys the support of Lithuanian Rabbi Lando. Shas raged with rage and took revenge on the city of Beit Shemesh. Revenge was served in the form of Moshe Abutbul, the former mayor of Beit Shemesh who lost to Bloch, the current mayor.
Abutbul's entry into the arena where Lithuanian Shmulik Greenberg and religious Alisa Bloch have so far competed against each other should help Bloch's chances of winning.
Severe discrimination in admission to seminars. Entrance to the seminar (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Srulik Laser, who belongs to the general Hasidic movement in Elad, shares with us his great frustration that "the mayor looks at them as little soldiers in his small pocket, the kind who will vote for him anyway and therefore there is nothing to make an effort for.
"In practice, there will be elections, but of course most of the public does not vote out of free choice, but out of sectarian identity. The game is not rigged in advance, the city is very divided. Although Shas has over 50% of Elad, Israel has quite a few voters and sympathizers among the Sephardic public, and even among the national-religious sector. Of course I will go and vote, but even though I belong to the Hasidic sector, I will vote for a Shas candidate.
"A failed mayor – the city has become neglected, dirty and filthy, so I will vote for any other candidate with a chance. In fact, many of the general Hasidic public are dissatisfied with Frosh's conduct. He takes us for granted, doesn't count us and doesn't take care of us. He invests in everyone he needs his votes, and he has neglected the Hasidic public over the past five years, especially when it comes to educational institutions.
"There is severe discrimination against those who do not accept a Hasidic community to the seminaries and Beit Yaakov because they are Hasidim, while the Hasidic Seminary and Beit Yaakov in Yiddish, which are very Hasidic and conservative, are not willing to accept the more open Hasidic families, and this public falls between the cracks. Frosh also puts his feet there and does not allow Beit Yaakov to be established for the more open Hasidic sector that speaks Hebrew, so there are hundreds of votes of the Hasidic public that will not elect him."
Beitar Illit
For now, Mayor Meir Rubinstein's victory seems assured. In the 2007 municipal elections, Rubinstein ran for mayor against incumbent Mayor Yitzhak Pindros, and was elected with a majority of 60% after a tumultuous election campaign. Since then, no one has been able to move him.
His victory seemed assured. Meir Rubinstein, Beitar Illit, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon, Dudi Vaknin
But things are still not hermetically closed, partly because the criminal case against Rubinstein in the Nissim Shitrit affair is still open, and an investigation that revealed that he forced directors of institutions in the city to fund his election campaign with hundreds of thousands of shekels may tip the scales against him.
Several times the name of Deputy Mayor and Flag of the Torah man Dudi Saltz has come up as someone who will challenge Rubinstein from home and run head-to-head against him with the support of Shas, which will want to take revenge on Elad - but it seems that in the current election campaign the move did not come to fruition and what happened is what it will be.
Shlomo Sabag from Beitar shares, "Assuming that the mayor acted and acts for the benefit of the residents, voting for him is a form of approval and recognition. However, it is always a good idea to have additional and new candidates, provided they have a previous track record. It's challenging for the existing mayor. Being safe in a chair isn't always healthy, regardless of the situation."
Only a special reason like a directive from the rabbi will get them to the polls on Election Day (Archive), Photo: JDN
Hani Waag, a resident of the city from the Hasidic sector: "Because there are really no elections, I have no dreams or thoughts about what can change. I'm not busy with it because it seems an unrealistic scenario."
Ruthie Berg, a Beitar resident, shares that she will not go to vote for elections in her city because she says the game is rigged in advance. She adds that only if there is a special reason to justify the effort, such as a rabbi ordering to go vote, will she do so. There are many things that need improvement and care in the city, and no one seems to be making an effort to please us," she says.
Bnei Brak
In most years, the Bnei Barkit arena was relatively quiet, and the mayorship shifted like a bullet from the Lithuanian side to the Hasidic side. The person who is supposed to get mayor this time is Agudat Israel Secretary General Hanoch Seibert, and Avraham Rubinstein, who currently serves as mayor on behalf of Degel HaTorah, is supposed to step down, according to the rotation agreement signed between the factions.
However, in the current elections, the situation changed following another battle – in Ashdod.
He thought he could unseat the incumbent mayor. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri, Archive, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri was confident that he would succeed in his struggle to oust the current mayor, Yehiel Lasri, and even formulated an agreement with a senior member of the Gur Hasidic movement, but the plan went awry. Gur declared her support for Lasry, and Shas put forward its own candidate for mayor - Avi Amsalem, chairman of the local Shas party.
Agudat Israel's punch to Deri in Ashdod had an immediate impact on the battle in Bnei Brak. Aryeh Deri nominated MK Uriel Bosso of Shas as his candidate, who seemed to have good prospects. On the other hand, the banner of Lithuanian Torah opposes Seibert's candidacy because it is controversial and increases Bossu's chances of winning.
Liat Barel, a Bnei Brak resident and mother of four, shares with us that she is tired of the situation in the city and will vote for anyone with a chance to win the position of mayor, and to give – even a faint horizon – of real hope.
"The situation in the city is bad, complete despair over what is happening." Uriel Bosso and Hanoch Seivers, Bnei Brak, Cinematography: Gideon Markowitz, Dudi Vaknin, Yossi Zeliger
"The situation in the city is bad," she says. "Everyone talks about total despair at what is happening and hopelessness for change on the horizon. We will go vote for everyone in the hope of some change, even the tiniest one.
"The construction irregularities in the city border on danger. Everyone knows about municipal enforcers and inspectors who accept bribes. Building without a permit and there is no enforcement. The youth walk around the street and there is no one to take care of them.
"And the worst problem is the plague of rats spinning between our legs. It's repulsive and ugly, it's a certificate of poverty for the city.
"I'm ashamed to live in the city, ashamed to invite secular friends, and even if a sweeper had run instead of Uriel Bosso, I would have chosen him."
Rat plague in the city of Bnei Brak (illustration), photo: istockphoto
If Bosso is a challenger, does that mean the game is not pre-rigged?
"It's precedent-setting and encouraging, but he's also acting like someone who has the choices in his pocket, which sucks a bit and is accompanied by a fear that he's more of the same. I also don't forget that he was never a resident of the city and was parachuted to us by political order from above, straight from Petah Tikva. Are we pawns at a chessboard? Is it in his best interest or is it the good of the politicians' personal arrangement in jobs and the distribution of benefits to them?"
Ridges
The current head of the council is Dan Cohen of Shas. Before him, Yitzhak Reich served on behalf of the Torah Judaism party. It is believed that Shas candidate Moti Vizgen will be the next head of the council.
Ariel Edri, a father of five: "There have been no elections in Rechasim for four terms, and it is still unknown what will happen in the 2023 elections. They have not yet revealed to us who the candidate is, who will be our mayor, who we are supposed to choose.
There have been no elections for four terms. Dan Cohen, Rechasim, Photo: Hezeki Huminer, Wikipedia, Michelle Dot Com
"The Torah Kingdom in the north keeps half of the children in the community for budget purposes only, with no chance of succeeding in school, and shirks any responsibility for the educational institutions on the grounds that they are private associations, even though the law requires that every child be given everything necessary to succeed - and there is no compensation here. And whoever does not vote will find his children without an educational institution in the locality. The whole point of the elected officials in the ridges is proximity to tenders and real estate combines, and the children of the community, who are the main thing, cannot get a real opportunity to succeed."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us