In less than a year, the residents of Haifa will decide whether a new mayor will be elected, or that the current mayor of the city, Yona Yahav, will continue for another term.

But while the Degel Hatorah is preparing for a strong battle against Yadav’s election, it seems that Agudas Yisrael and Shas are not expected to cooperate with the move and may even publicly support Yahav’s bid for reelection.

Degel will try to promote attorney David Etzioni, who is considered a close associate of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, in order to oust Mayor Yona Yahav, who have a particularly long confrontation with him over the appointment of Miki Alper as deputy mayor. Yahav decided to turn his back on the coalition agreement with Degel, and he refused to appoint Alper as a deputy mayor.

Degel Hatorah Chairman Moshe Gafni has had harsh words for Yahav during the past year.

Yahav on the other hand is looking ahead at elections, and he recently held a meeting with head of the Shas Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Shlita. That meeting focused on a large building in the city which Yahav allocated to the Shas education system. Yahav told Rav Cohen the building was a promise made about a decade ago, to HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L.

Unofficially, it is clear to all that Yahav is working to cement relations with Rav Cohen and Shas ahead of municipal elections. At present, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri has not commented on his position regarding Yahav and the future mayoral race.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)