Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon has announced that there will be elections for the city’s ‘minhelet’, local community governments, a powerful body which runs the affairs of the city’s various communities.

In recent years, former Mayor Nir Barkat refused to hold such elections, fearing in some communities, including Ramot for example, where there is now a chareidi majority, the secular minhelet officials would be ousted and the funding would shift from events favored by the chareidim and not the secular community residents as the situation exists today. One example would be pools offering mixed swimming, which are taboo for the chareidim. This would also hold true regarding funding for events held on Shabbos and Yomim Tovim.

According to a Kikar Shabbos News report, elections are expected to take place in a number of communities including Har Choma, French Hill, Ramot, and Gilo.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)