The dati leumi Bayit Yehudi party achieved partial success in the municipal elections. While the party is a major component of the national government, and it exerted a great deal of effort and money in some of the local elections, it failed to achieve its goal in some areas.

The reelection of Nir Barkat in Jerusalem is a major victory, one that promises to yield additional fruits in the upcoming election for the city’s chief rabbis, as Barkat has committed to back the dati leumi candidate.

Elsewhere, the dati leumi party orchestrated a major political upset by ousting Sderot Mayor David Buskila. The new mayor is Alon Davidi. In addition, Bayit Yehudi has six new city council seats.

Other Bayit Yehudi victories are in periphery areas including Kiryat Malachi, where Eliyahu Zohar won the race and in Lod, where Yair Rabibo, a member of the city’s Torani Garin emerged the winner.

However, Bennett’s main battleground, Beit Shemesh, remains in chareidi control as Shas’ Moshe Abutbul earned a second term in office.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)