MK (Likud) Ze’ev Elkin who serves as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, is thinking about entering the Jerusalem mayoral race in the event Mayor Nir Barkat announces he will not run again. At present, it does appear Barkat will not be seeking a third term.

Elkin, who is Shomer Shabbat, enjoys a special status among the chareidi politicians of all the factions and their personal trust. Elkin is also considered the Prime Minister’s right-hand man on many issues and holds the axis between the chareidim and the Prime Minister, including sensitive missions and handling complex issues.

Such candidacy directly affects the other candidates who intend to run for mayor, some have already announced this, and some have not yet done so. Among others, Moshe Leon, whose connection to Foreign Minister Lieberman harms his position vis-à-vis the chareidi perspective, especially in Jerusalem, where Shabbos observance is important and sensitive.

Candidates such as Meir Turgeman, Yossi Chavilio or Ofer Berkowitz will find it difficult to deal with Elkin. On the other hand, a chareidi candidate, as decided by the chareidi parties, is likely to exploit the split of the secular voice and win the mayor.

According to a ‘Kav Itona’ut’ report, Elkin has already begun assembling a personal staff for a possible run and even recruited an advisor on chareidi affairs for the matter.

Elkin himself took pride in his recent interview with the Kav Itona’ut, saying, “I think that since I took office there has been a justified claim by the chareidi representatives that the government activities in Jerusalem and the Ministry of Jerusalem do not take the chareidi population into account.

“I entered the office when I knew and understood that the chareidi population is an integral part of the city’s residents and I should be the address of our various programs. We already have things that can be seen in reality. We have a plan of public chapters, and recently we opened the Sanhedrin Park with the mayor after a thorough renovation, it’s a real revolution in the area and I’m very proud of them. But we also have events in Jerusalem such as ‘Moving Up to Jerusalem’ – a huge event we did in the summer for the chareidi sector, where we would have the maximum rate and without us it would not have been established.

“Even now, when we worked on the Chomesh plan in Jerusalem for the Jubilee program, I insisted that we also include employment in the chareidi sector in Jerusalem. We support educational institutions and higher education projects. Representatives of all the chareidi parties in the Jerusalem municipality all say that in the past two years there has been a complete revolution in this area. ”

Elkin himself does not live in Jerusalem but in Gush Etzion, but he is well acquainted with the city in his capacity as minister for Jerusalem affairs, and in the event that he will eventually run, he can transfer his residence address to Jerusalem itself up to six months prior to elections.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)