Jerusalem elections are here: Who will run Jerusalem?

On Tuesday, 690,707 Jerusalemites will be able to determine in whose hands the affairs of the largest city in the country will be entrusted.

Jerusalem is not only the capital of the State of Israel, it is also the city on which the eyes of the world are directed. 

There are 30 seats up for grabs on the city council – plus one more for the mayor-(re)elect. The new municipal legislature will have a great impact on a wide range of issues, from the state of public transportation and trying to achieve affordable housing, to creating an education system that is adapted to the needs of the century, as well as its attitude toward the minorities living in the capital.

Anyone aged 17 by Election Day, and is registered, can vote. Voter registration closed on September 14, 2023, which was 47 days before the original date of the elections, meaning that those who turned 17 after the original date or who moved in the meantime cannot vote in their current place of residence.

In addition to citizens, permanent residents are allowed to participate in municipal elections but cannot themselves be elected as members or chairperson of the council.

Each resident who arrives at the polling station will receive two envelopes from the polling office – one white and one yellow – and will have to choose two slips: a yellow one with the name of their choice for mayor and a white one with the letters of their choice for council list – at least one of which includes candidates from several parties.

A notification was sent to all eligible voters in Israel with the location of their polling station three weeks before the original election date. It can also be found on the Interior Ministry website; by calling 1-800-101-975 or 077-979-0060; or by sending a text or WhatsApp message to 053-380-1464. A valid ID card is necessary to vote.

Results are not expected the night or even the morning after the elections but rather a few days later – and at the latest on Sunday, March 3.

Who are the candidates?

• Mayor: Current Mayor Moshe Lion; Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio; and current coalition member Haim Epstein (see list #13 below).

Fifteen lists are competing for the city council’s 30 seats (in alphabetical order according to the lists’ Hebrew ballot letter):

1. Jerusalem Union headed by Yossi Havilio, with Yaela De Langa (Yesh Atid); Yonatan Peleg and Laura Wharton (Democratic Jerusalem); and Eran Ben Yehuda (Labor). Ballot letter (in Hebrew): Alef
2. Agudat Israel Jerusalem headed by Itzhak Meir Brim, followed by Yohanan Weizmann, Michael Halberstam, and Jacob Halperin. Ballot letter: Gimmel
3. Jerusalem First headed by Alon Levi, followed by Benjamin Birnzweig, Orit Hazon Mendel, and Yosef Saragossi. Ballot letter: Dalet
4. Degel Hatorah headed by Eliezer Rauchberger, followed by Israel Kellerman, Moshe Gura, and Aharon Blumenstock. Ballot letters: Dalet, Gimmel, Taf
5. All Its Residents (Kol Ezraheha) led by Sondes Elhot, followed by Mohamad Abu Zanid, Walid Abu Tayya, and Suleiman Fuad. Ballot letters: Dalet, Peh Sofit
6. Yerushalayim Unity led by Avishai Cohen, followed by Malka Greenbert, Nissan Kazioff, and Itamar Levi. Ballot letters: Dalet, Resh, Caf Sofit
7. Hitorerut in Jerusalem led by Adir Schwartz, followed by Miriam Sela, Ariel Baziz, and Ya’ara Shiloh. Ballet letters: Hey, Taf
8. Religious Zionism led by Hagit Moshe, followed by Yehuda Alexander Freudiger, Ruth Abrahamson, and Haim Daniel Pear. Ballot letters: Tet, Bet
9. One Jerusalem headed by Moshe Lion, followed by Ronit Hodjiev-Hacohen, Ofer Ayubi, Talli Friedman Levi, and Na’ama Berg. Ballot letters: Yud, Alef
10. Jerusalem Will Succeed led by Yehuda Ben-Yosef, followed by Ziona Amiga, Eliyahu Levi, and Rotem Assaf. Ballot letters: Yud, Bet
11. The Likud led by Yael Antebi, followed by Elad Wazana, Yohanes Asanaka, Dalit Gahan, and Nadav Azaria. Ballot letters: Mem, Chet, Lamed
12. Jerusalem in Noam led by Eldad Rabinowitz, followed by Liora Alon, David Samuha, and Shlomo Golbari. Ballot letters: Nun, Yud
13. Bnei Torah led by Haim Epstein, followed by Avraham Menkis, Batiset Shlomo, Abraham Englander, and Pinhas Ouerbach. Ballot letters: Ayin, Tzadik Sofit
14. United headed by Arieh King, followed by Dor Levi, Deborah Politis, and Haim Yosef David. Ballot letter: Kuf
15. Shas led by Tzvika Cohen, followed by Ben-Haim Cohen, Meir Marciano, and Zvi Assulin. Ballot letters: Shin, Samech

Tamar Abuhzaira’s Immigrating to Jerusalem list would have been #16, but she recently withdrew it from the elections.■

An Arab candidate for city council meets Jewish residents

Sondos Alhot (in Arabic, “silk of whales”) is not the first Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem who has tried to enter local politics, but she is the first Arab woman running for city council.

Born in Nazareth, she has lived in the capital for over 15 years. At first, she tried to live in its eastern neighborhoods, but physical conditions there led her to prefer Jewish neighborhoods – first in French Hill, today in Kiryat Hayovel.

Initially, she joined Walid Abu Taya, who wanted to run for mayor, but soon enough Sondos realized he was not the ideal partner. However, she did not give up her dream of reaching Safra Square, to fulfill her desire to help her people.

So far, interest among the city’s Arab sector is very low. Many residents have never heard of her, and those who have do not intend to vote for her.

This Monday, she presented herself and her plans at the Baka home of Susan and Yosef Abramowitz to an audience of about 70 people. Most listening were non-haredi English speakers. 

The atmosphere was very supportive, and quite a number of those present announced, even before she spoke, that they intended to vote for her.

Sondos explained the issues she sees. “The neglect in eastern neighborhoods, namely in Kafr Aqab [a neighborhood of about 100,000 inhabitants beyond the security barrier]: There often is no water, garbage removal does not take place regularly, there are no organized roads or street lighting, and no cultural centers for youth.”

Sondos is apparently unaware of the government program that began six years ago, funding over NIS 5 billion just for the east side’s needs – in infrastructure, education, and sanitation. There are neighborhoods, including the Old City, where the change is evident, but perhaps Sondos has not yet visited them. 

When asked if she didn’t think it was an almost impossible task and if it wouldn’t have been better to join one of the existing lists, Sondos said, sadly, that she tried and was not accepted.

Pepe Alalo, who headed the Meretz faction for 17 years on the city council, and also appears last on Sondos’s list, confirmed that he too never offered any east Jerusalem resident a slot on the Meretz list, and expressed his regret.

Being that she is originally from Nazareth, the pressure on her from Palestinian elements who oppose participation in elections is not too significant. The chance that she will receive 7,500 votes and enter the council as a single faction is low, but she seems determined not to give up. 

Eyal Hashkes is number 5 on Hitorerut’s list

Eyal made aliyah from Cleveland, Ohio, in 2009.

He is the son and grandson of Olim; his grandfather, Dr. Henry Hashkes, was a known doctor for Jerusalem’s Anglo community and received the 'Yakir Yerushalim' award for pioneering family health in Jerusalem.

Eyal spent nine years serving as an officer in a top intelligence unit and today, he is an economist in a leading management consulting company, specializing in the Israeli economy. 

He recently authored the “Jerusalem Economy Report” (2023), detailing ways to bring employment and prosperity to Jerusalem despite its challenges and hopes to put these plans into action in the City Council.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.