The elections for the local authorities in the ultra-orthodox cities turned into a significant battle in the last month between the heads of Shas and Torah Judaism, and the competition for who will be elected as head or who will get more representatives to the local council has become fierce, full of dirt and mutual slander. The main story begins in Bnei Brak. For years there has been a rotation agreement between Dagel The Torah and the Agudat Yisrael, the two factions that make up Torah Judaism, are mayors. Each term a candidate from one of the factions serves as mayor.
This year, as part of Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri's attempts to get what he wants in other cities, he decided that his party should also be Part of the rotation round. He placed Minister Uriel Bosso opposite Hanoch Seibert, Agudath Israel's candidate. Torah Judaism believed that Deri was trying to achieve better results in Ashdod, Beit Shemesh and Elad, and after he got what he wanted in these cities - Bosso would withdraw his candidacy. But no That's what happened, and a court petition, according to which Bosso did not move his residence from Petah Tikva to Bnei Brak at all, was of no use either.
Minister Uriel Bosso/Flash 90, Jonathan Zindel
Two leading candidates are now competing for the mayorship: Hanoch Seibert, a representative of Agudat Israel belonging to the Gor Hasidot, which is prominent and powerful in Israel, and Minister Bosso of Shas. The estimates are that the battle was decided in advance within the framework of the permanent rotation deal in Seibert's favor, again without considering the residents' position.
Hanoch Seibert/Flash 90, Aaron Kron, Flash 90
Took a bet.
Deri/Flash 90, Noam Rivkin Fenton
The battle now is over the power of the ultra-orthodox factions and the rest in the city council: 7 lists are running for the council, including some unusual ones: the Likud led by Ya'akov Vader, who last time succeeded in getting one representative, and "Tovat Ha'ir", a faction of attorney Shlomo Elboim who belongs to the community of Hasidic retirees Gor. If he enters the council, he will be a significant challenge to Seibert, who belongs to the central Hasidism from which Alboim left. Those who are working in his favor are the people of "Shlomi Emonim", who are associated with Minister Meir Parosh, who are angry at the conduct of Gur Hasidism in the rest of the country.
In the city of Elad, an equally significant battle is being waged Two main candidates for mayor: veteran mayor Israel Parosh, son of minister Parosh, and opposite Yehuda Botbul, acting mayor and chairman of the local Shas. The history of the battle between the two: the Degel HaTorah faction, which represents the Lithuanian ultra-orthodox movement, signed in the last elections on an agreement with Shas according to which it will support a candidate on its behalf in the current elections.
Israel Parosh/Flash 90, Aharon Krohn, Flash 90
The agreement was signed during the lives of Rabbi Haim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, who have since passed away.
Rabbi Dov Lando, the current ultra-Orthodox leader, decided that the agreement was not acceptable to him and announced the party's support for his close associate Yisrael Parosh, which infuriated Shas. S, which has a Spanish majority in the city and suffered many blows in the previous election campaigns, wants to finally defeat the old mayor.
Bnei Brak and Elad are only part of a larger battle that the ultra-Orthodox parties are conducting in other cities such as Beit Shemesh, Beitar Illit and Ashdod.
One conclusion cannot be disputed, even before the winners and losers were announced: the current elections have torn Torah Judaism from within, in a battle that may still have national consequences in the next Knesset elections.
At the same time, Deri made a big bet for him, will he be the big winner or the loser who lost in all the local arenas?
The answer to this question will probably only be given on Wednesday morning, when the results are known.
More on the same topic:
Bnei Brak
Elad
Aryeh Deri
Shas
Torah Judaism
The elections to the local authorities