Jerusalem elections: A look at five women running for city council

In the city council elections, to be held in little over a month, no less than 10 women are running, with seven in realistic positions to make it onto the city council.

Moreover, in this election, a haredi woman is competing. In the past, there have been attempts by five feminist haredi women to enter the local political arena on different lists, but all were forced to withdraw.

On the Jerusalem Union list, headed by mayoral candidate and Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio, there are two women at the top.

What’s different this year? One candidate noted that it is not about heavenly bodies or horoscope coincidences but about the serious, consistent, and in-depth work of women raising awareness in the public. The first signs appeared a year and a half ago, when women ran in community council elections throughout the city and won positions, including an ultra-Orthodox woman who was elected to be the chair in a haredi neighborhood, with the blessing of the rabbis.

Thirty-eight days before the elections, here are the women making headlines in local Jerusalem politics.

Hagit Moshe 

(The Jewish Home – Religious Zionism)

Hagit Moshe serves on the current city council as deputy mayor and holds the education portfolio, which she wants to continue after the elections.

“What has changed is, on the one hand, the maturity of women who realized that they should enter this arena, along with the general public’s deep awareness that a good society must make room for women,” Moshe says. “The number of women running in the city is a blessing. But what is important is an active and dedicated representative who works for the benefit of the residents of Jerusalem, whether a man or a woman.”

Moshe emphasizes that she represents the traditional and moderate Religious Zionism. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich supports her list, though he does not exactly represent the moderate wing of the movement.

“There are debates within the movement” admits Moshe, “but I have always presented the mainstream of Religious Zionism. I have always been the Jewish Home. I haven’t changed. Everyone knows that while we represent the religious, we can also represent the general public.”

Moshe wants to continue to lead education in the city, pointing out that the light rail may not entice people to move to Jerusalem but the community and education here will.

“Young couples must be able to afford housing here. So evacuation of buildings should be allowed, but not only high-rises [should be built].”

On the tension between the ultra-Orthodox and the general public, Moshe says that the haredi community is a blessed one and contributes, and everyone has the right to live in the city. But, she says, it is important that all sectors in the city have a say in city affairs.

“They should be represented in proportion to their number in the population so that everyone will get what they need and deserve. We are for everyone to be represented equally.”

Having been a victim of vandalism, with her photos defaced, Moshe says, “I will be present, I will continue to take pictures despite these extremists. They don’t listen to the ultra-Orthodox representatives anyway. I will continue to take pictures and perform.”

Tali Friedman 

(One Jerusalem, led by Mayor Moshe Lion)

Tali Friedman owns and runs the Atelier, a workshop for cooking, located in Mahaneh Yehuda. Three years ago, she was elected as the first chairwoman of the market’s Merchants’ Association. Many eyebrows were raised when she entered a position that was considered a male stronghold. Friedman, who had the full support of the mayor, assumed the position with trepidation, as well as determination. A month ago, she accepted Lion’s invitation to join his list.

“The position as chairwoman for the Mahaneh Yehuda Merchants’ Association was a great learning experience for me. I was exposed to all the interfaces related to the promotion of the market and turning it into what it is today, a center of trade but also of culture.

“This is exactly what Jerusalem is about – culture everywhere, according to our size, to our diversity, to our varied customs of so many communities,” she says.

Friedman, the mother of four, says that she has been a Jerusalemite since she was 12 and understands the city’s needs. “I learned at the Mahaneh Yehuda Merchants’ Association  that I shouldn’t be afraid to say when I don’t know something.”

Friedman understands the general public’s wariness of the haredim. “But I think it is good to have representation of all parts of the Jerusalem public,” she says. “Each sector should be adequately represented for its part of the city; and in order to achieve that, we need everyone to take part in the election and go vote.

“There are a lot of fields I am interested in. There is, of course, the economic issue of commerce and business in the city. But there is also a place for culture and art, which I am connected with and is so important for this city.

“I also want young couples to want to live here, and for that they need to have a place to live. I’m not against the high-rises, as long as they are built in the surrounding neighborhoods and not in the city center. If it allows young couples and families to purchase an apartment and remain here, that is the best answer.

“What else is possible? My son, for example, would agree to live in a tower if the price allows, and that’s why the mayor is building here with great momentum. I support that.”

Ye’ela de Langa 

(Yesh Atid, The Jerusalem Union)

Ye’ela de Langa, originally from the Galilee, has lived in Jerusalem since she was 14. “We are a traditional family, though some would call us religious,” she says.

De Langa served in the army for 22 years in several roles, mainly recruiting and training special populations for service in the IDF. After she retired from the army, she went to Ma’ale Adumim, where she served as a school principal.

“I didn’t remain there too long and moved to what I always loved – tourism and culture.

“I have always felt that I have a mission for Jerusalem; therefore, I have been for years, in parallel with all my other activities, a social activist, mainly in the field of environment and preservation of heritage sites.”

 Five years ago, De Langa joined the Hitorerut movement, where she was responsible for the activities in the Ramat Dania neighborhood. But she says she was soon disappointed and decided to leave the movement.

Soon after, she joined the Yesh Atid movement where, for the last four years, she has been the head of its headquarters in Jerusalem. “I was active in establishing a headquarters that did not exist until then, with tens of thousands of supporters and activists across the city.”

De Langa adds that since the protest movement started, she has been more active. “That’s where I met Yossi Havilio and Laura Wharton, and from there I joined their faction for the municipal elections.

“My expectations from these elections are high. Politically, we expect to lay a foundation for the future generations of the liberal public who can be proud to live in Jerusalem.

“I want us to become part of a coalition with whomever is elected next as mayor and to take care of the entire public. My aim is to see that every Jerusalemite feels good in the home and neighborhood he or she chose to live in. We want our children and the next generation to remain here in Jerusalem, and for those who left, to return here.

“I feel that the Jerusalem public is highly motivated to fight, with all the activists of the liberal public. It is clear that the public expects us to act. I think that the protest in the country raised awareness in Jerusalem.

“As for women in these elections – well, there are four mothers and only three fathers, so I think it’s time to have 60% women and 40% men, and that includes an awakening also in the haredi sector. We have reached an era where it is no longer a corrective experience but a reality to have women in the front.”

Yael Antebi 

(Likud)

A resident of Pisgat Ze’ev, Yael Antebi was a community council member during mayor Nir Barkat’s term, representing her neighborhood. But for the election, she is heading the Likud list.

“It’s good for me and for the Likud,” Antebi says.

Politically, what kind of relationship do she have with Lion?

“We were closer as members of the community council. Today, it’s different, since he takes care of the entire city.”

Both she and Lion are identified in some way with Likud. So why didn’t he invite her to join his list?

“I have no idea, you should ask him. As for me, I wanted to continue and improve what I did as a councilwoman. So when I got the Likud’s proposal, I thought that could be the best opportunity to promote all the projects I have in mind.”

Will she continue to deal only with Pisgat Ze’ev’s issues?

“Obviously, this is going to change. Now I represent a very large public, but I don’t forget Pisgat Ze’ev, of course.

Which priorities will she promote once she is on the council? Will she seek to be deputy mayor?

“Certainly. But it’s too early to point to what I want to do exactly.”

In her opinion, what are the most urgent issues that Jerusalem has to deal with?

“The first issue is personal security, burglary of apartments, theft of vehicles. This is an issue that is very troubling for Jerusalemites, and I want to bring about a change in the issue.

“Lion has done a lot about the cleanliness of the city. The city is clean, but I think that nobody thinks in terms of adapting the special needs of each neighborhood in terms of cleaning.

“For example, the needs for cleaning in the haredi neighborhoods differ from those in the non-haredi sector. We have to think about, and adapt these needs. I would call it ‘smart cleaning.’ The idea is to figure out what fits each neighborhood, according to its character.

“And, of course, transportation. We need smart traffic lights and to plan public transportation according to the mapping of needs for different areas of the city.”

Pisgat Ze’ev is on the seam. What would she do to improve the security there?

“Pisgat Ze’ev is a neighborhood on the seam, that is true. But Jerusalem as a whole is a seam region. I believe that as much as we take care of the Arab population and their needs, we shall finally have a better city for all. But generally speaking, I am in favor of an approach of improving and supporting the needs of everyone – Jews, Arabs, ultra-Orthodox, and secular. Everyone deserves good and appropriate services.”

Dr. Laura Wharton 

(Yerushalyim Democratit, the Jerusalem Union)

How does she view the increase in the number of women in these elections?

“It’s neither luck nor coincidence but the result of several things. This is a long process that our society is going through, in which women are slowly advancing in the political field as well.

“Secondly, the fact that we have a government that excludes women caused women to stand up and fight. Five years ago, the government approved a 15% increase in the election budget for the lists that place women in realistic spots. That has an effect too.”

What is the added value that women bring to local politics? Do women have a different viewpoint, or is it just a matter of principle?

“There are two differences. Women are much more practical in daily life in the city. They use public transportation more, follow at schools more, and are more sensitive to the environment because they tend to spend more time than men in public parks and playgrounds.

“Women know how to cooperate; and in politics, this is a very important thing, and usually rare. For example, I managed the committee to promote the status of women at Safra Square, and it was the only committee in which ultra-Orthodox, Arab, religious, and secular women participated and worked together.”

There is a reasonable chance that her list will be in Moshe Lion’s coalition. It is equally likely that the same coalition will also have representatives of the ultra-Orthodox factions there? What is expected to be the agenda?

“I hope that we can refine the existing agreements and reach some kind of modus vivendi, which means, for example, that they will not put ultra-Orthodox schools in secular neighborhoods or in neighborhoods where the haredim are a small minority. One of the problems in this city is that we have to share what we have equally.

What else?

“The issue of allocations, for example. If someone gets an allocation for public institutions, that means someone else doesn’t get it; it’s not like a budget, which can be increased.”

What are the issues that will not pass on the city council under any circumstances?

“Any attempt to close places on Shabbat and to reduce budgets of cultural institutions. There were such attempts; haredim representatives tried to close the First Station, and the mayor blocked it. There was an attempt [that succeeded temporarily] to close the Monster Pub.

“The threat exists. Yossi Havilio and I mobilized and fought in the courts, and we managed to reopen it. These are red lines for me.

Which areas would she like to be involved in?

“Allocations [of plots or structures for the benefit of the public] are important, which the liberal public must take care of because today more areas are being taken from us in a disproportionate way.

“I would also want to be involved in the community local councils and their budgeting, which is important to our liberal life so that we know that this city is also ours. ❖