Nir Barkat is still the preferred mayor of the dati leumi tzibur in Jerusalem, but the percentage of support for him has dropped significantly. This emerges from a survey published at the weekend in Yediot Yerushalayim.

According to the survey, the identity of the body or person standing behind it is unknown, the current mayor wins 62% support among the kippa sruga public in the capital. Behind him was Moshe Leon with 19%, chairman of the Hisorarus faction Ofer Berkowitz with 10% and deputy mayor Meir Turgeman with 8%.

According to the report, Barkat’s associates admit that this is a fallout, since in the previous elections in 2013 he received 85% support among this voting public. However, they noted that they are pleased to see that “the mayor’s survey is still receiving great support.

Another matter addressed in the survey is the “partition plan” in which the municipality determined which national religious institutions would be closed and transferred to chareidi hands, and vice versa, considering the demographic changes in the city’s neighborhoods. Forty-four percent of the religious public in the city declared that the plan had damaged their support for Barakat, 43% said that their views on it had not changed, and 13% said they supported it even more.

About 57% of the respondents said they did not agree with this statement, 25% did not express identification or opposition, and 18% said it reflected their personal opinion.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)