Israel Municipal Election News Roundup 10/11/18

Kol Ha’ir Poll In Jerusalem Race: Leon Receives The Majority Of Chareidi Votes

The Geocartography Institute conducted an election poll for the Kol Ha’ir weekly newspaper, showing the need for a second runoff round in the Jerusalem mayoral race between candidates Ofer Berkowitz and Ze’ev Elkin.

According to the poll, in the first round of voting on Election Day, 21 Marcheshvan, corresponding to Tuesday, October 30, 2018, Ofer Berkowitz received 29.1% of the vote, followed by Ze’ev Elkin with 20.2%, Moshe Leon with 17.9%, Yossi Deutsch with 8.6% and Avi Salman with 1.4%.

18.3% of respondents are still undecided, 3.1% responded they do not plan on voting and 1.4% refused to reveal their candidate of choice, totaling 22.8%.

The results of the survey indicate that for the first time in Jerusalem, a second round of elections is expected, in which the two candidates receiving the largest number will compete, since none of the candidates is able to achieve the required 40 percent.

The survey authors note that Jerusalem is one of the most complex cities for sampling, “since the chareidi population is a very difficult challenge for surveyors.” Therefore, the possibility that the candidates Deutsch and Leon have relatively greater power is taken into account, however, the maximum statistical error range under this sampling circumstance is 4.4 percent.

The poll shows the distribution of votes among the non-chareidi population – secular, traditional and religious – in Jerusalem: 39.9% of the non-chareidi respondents said they would vote for Berkowitz; 26 percent said they would vote for Elkin; 7.3 percent said they would vote for Leon; 3.1 percent responded that they would vote for Deutsch; And 1.9 percent indicated that they would vote for Salman.

17.7 percent of non-chareidi respondents in Jerusalem are yet undecided; 2.6 percent are not planning on voting; and 1.5 percent refused to respond (a total of 21.8 percent).

According to the survey, the distribution of votes among the chareidi population in the city gives Leon a crushing victory in the chareidi vote: 44.5 percent will vote for Leon, compared to 22.3 percent of the chareidim who said they would vote for Deutsch.

5.8 percent of the chareidim said they would vote for Elkin; 2.1 percent responded that they would vote for Berkowitz and 0.3 percent said they would vote for Salman.

19.7 percent of chareidi respondents said that no one had yet decided who to vote for; 4.2 percent do not intend to vote; and 1.2 percent refused to respond (a total of 25.1 percent).

In a deeper segmentation of the level of religiosity, the survey reveals:
Secularists: 55.9 percent will vote for Berkowitz; 16.1 percent will vote for Elkin; 4.4 percent would vote for Deutsch; 2.5 percent would vote for Salman; 0.3 percent will vote for Leon.

Traditional:
33 percent would vote for Berkowitz; 28.2 percent will vote for Elkin; 15.6 percent will vote for Leon; and 0.5 percent will vote for Salman. It should be noted that none of the traditional respondents replied that he would vote for Deutsch.

Religious:
37.7 percent said they would vote for Elkin; 23.9 percent said they would vote for Berkowitz; 9 percent to Leon; 4.3 percent for Deutsch; 2.3 percent to Salman.

The Geocartography and Kol Ha’ir survey is an independent telephone survey conducted this week among 500 men and women aged 17 and over, residents of Jerusalem who represent a representative sample of the city’s adult Jewish population.

Geocartography states that the maximum statistical error range in this sampling is 4.4 percent at statistically significant levels of 95 percent.

VIDEO: 8 Things One Might Not Know About Chareidi Mayoral Candidate Yossi Deutsch

Yossi Deutsch, who is affiliated with the Shlomei Emunim faction of Agudas Yisrael is not the only religious candidate, but he is the only chareidi candidate running in the mayoral race. the veteran deputy mayor is born and raised in the holy city.

In this election video, we learn a bit more about him, some things that many voters may not be aware of.

• Deutsch is seventh generation Yerushalmi.
• He has served as go-between the dati leumi tzibur and the Housing Ministry and was instrumental in the establishment of the Har Choma neighborhood.
• He served as a deputy mayor for 7.5 years, and a member of the city council for 12.5 years.
• He spearheaded a program to integrate persons from academia into the workforce.
• He is the father of six and grandfather of three.
• He appreciates classical music and chess.
• On the other hand, he is not a fan of bananas or olives.
• He is a Yerushalmi in his neshama.

Polls Signal Berkowitz & Elkin Will Compete In A Second Round Runoff Election

According to an election poll pertaining to the Jerusalem mayoral race, released on Thursday, 3 Marcheshvan, by Yisrael Hayom, Ofer Berkowitz is in first place following first round voting and will enter a runoff second round against Ze’ev Elkin. None of the candidates receives sufficient votes to appoint a new mayor in Yerushalayim in round one.

The poll was conducted by the Magar Mochot Institute for the newspaper.

Berkowitz received 28%, followed by Elkin with 16%, Moshe Leon with 13%, Yossi Deutsch with 12% and the remaining 30% of eligible voters are still undecided.

The poll also addresses the Tel Aviv mayoral race, with the incumbent, Mayor Ron Huldai, received the majority vote, 29%, followed by Assaf Zamir with 22% and Assaf Arel with only 8%.

Shas Is Fighting To Take Back Control Of Elad From Porush

The Shas movement in Elad launched its election headquarters in Elad about twenty days prior to municipal elections, which are scheduled for Tuesday, 21 Marcheshvan, corresponding to October 30, 2018.

The event was attended by Shas Chairman in Elad and Deputy Mayor Tzuriel Krisfel, Shas Executive Director Rabbi Chaim Biton, Knesset Members Avraham Betzalel and Yinon Azoulai, Head of the Rechasim Council Dan Cohen, Member of the Jerusalem City Council Avraham Betzalel, Shas representatives in Elad and dozens of supporters.

Shas chairman in Elad, Deputy Mayor Tzuriel Krisfel opened the event by telling how Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef ZT”L ZY”A called him about a month before his death and ordered him to “go and save Elad”.

In the course of his speech, Krisfel referred to his last term: “We tried to do everything to ensure that there was no disagreement, even though they did not fulfill the agreement, and we worked to achieve peace. Party chairman Rav Aryeh Deri invested tens of millions of shekels in Elad during those years. All of the institutions of all the different sectors benefited, receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels for renovations in addition to cultural events and funds for city improvement. All of the budgets were obtained by Deri and given to the city. Over the years there was gratitude, and there was a person who attributed all of the success to himself even though he did not toil”, referring to Mayor Yisrael Porush.

Krisfel also referred to the achdus achieved in the city and said: “We worked very hard and Baruch Hashem, achieved the agreement of the majority of the city’s public; Shas, Degel Hatorah and the Yishai party. We are embarking on a new way of cooperation and leading the city. Rabbi Pindrus is a man of action of the first degree, who was a very successful mayor, and together we will lead the city back to its good days, with the blessing of all Gedolei Yisrael, and certainly will with Siyata Dishmaya.”

MK Malchieli delivered a harsh speech and attacked the behavior of the outgoing mayor: “We are all ready to forgive, except that we are treated like idiots, as if we could be bought with a hug and a song. It’s said that he did and brought, but in fact, he who really brought tens of millions of shekels to the city is the chairman of the movement, Rabbi Deri.

“A person who increases his advertising budget by NIS 2 million tells the residents, ‘you do not interest me’. Everyone knows how much esteem Rabbi Deri enjoys from the entire political system, so you will know that the agreement signed is the best for Shas, the Sephardi tzibur and Elad”.

At the end of the conference, the activists were given regular pamphlets with the division of Shas voters, so that everyone would work to bring the voters for whom he is responsible.

Achdus Prevails Ahead Of Elections In Bnei Brak

The Bayit Yehudi party and Veterans of the Herut faction met with the designated mayor and informed him of his support in the upcoming Bnei Brak elections.

The unity and dialogue seem to be continuing as the leaders of the Bayit Yehudi faction and the Herut Movement in Bnei Brak met with Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein, who is designated to become the next mayor, replacing Chanoch Zeibert.

In the framework of the meeting held by the heads of the factions, many issues related to the hearts of the people of “United in Bnei Brak” were raised, as they like to call themselves, due to their approach to represent all the residents of the city from all sectors in an effort to keep the achdus momentum going.

The mayor and his staff were briefed on the details that had recently been raised on the agenda, such as the intruder at the Segulah school, and even thanked the people of ‘United in Bnei Brak’ who were interested in an expeditious ending of the matter for the benefit of all involved.

This meeting is part of a series of meetings held by the municipality’s heads throughout the year with “United in Bnei Brak” members, who receive wide support from the various Knesset factions, such as Kulanu, Bayit Yehudi and others.

Among the participants were Aharon Grinstein and Tzvi Fishbach, heads of the Herut movement, and chairman of the Bayit Yehudi local branch, Shlomo Guri and his deputy Tzvika Rosenblatt.

At the end of the meeting, Rubinstein called on the “United in Bnei Brak” faction to join the city council as a partner. In response, the participants said that they support him for mayor.

Shlomo Guri said: “We are happy to see again an attentive ear from the next mayor. There is mutual understanding to take care of the needs of all the sectors in the city and we are pleased that we have found Rabbi Rubinstein ready to help us advance the needs of the city.”

JCI Student Union Votes For Elkin In Mayoral Race

The student union of the Jerusalem College of Technology, which is more commonly known as Machon Lev, voted to determine who the student body prefers in the upcoming mayoral race in the capital. The largest number of votes went to Ze’ev Elkin.

The results of the mock election follow:
37% Ze’ev Elkin
26% Moshe Leon
21% Yossi Deutsch
16% Ofer Berkowitz

After the guest panel had opportunity to present its case, a panel that included the above-mentioned candidates, votes were cast for a second time.
42% Ze’ev Elkin
35% Moshe Leon
16% Yossi Deutsch
7% Ofer Berkowitz