Opinion — Ger and Porush: crossroads in Jerusalem?

By Nicole Brackman

Issue of Nov. 21, 2008 / 23 Cheshvan 5769

The recent Jerusalem mayoral election may mark a turning point in Israeli politics — the public splintering of the once-monolithic Chareidi religious voting bloc. Although politicians at the leadership level have been duking it out for generations in back offices, once the ballots were determined and rabbinically approved, the faithful have heretofore marched in near lockstep in the casting of votes.

Last week, secular candidate Nir Barkat defeated Meir Porush — scion of a religious-political dynasty; government minister; and Member of Knesset — in a landslide. Barkat garnered 52 percent of the vote with Porush coming in a distant second, with 43 percent.

Porush certainly did himself no favors. Just days before the election, he had a foot-meets-mouth moment when he remarked in Yiddish to an audience of Belz Chassidim that “In another 15 years there will not be a secular mayor in any city in Israel, [except for] perhaps in some far-flung village.”

More a comment on the rising birthrate in the religious community than a warning of a nefarious plot, the statement nevertheless was fodder for Barkat’s campaign of inclusion: “Victory belongs to all those who love and cherish this special and amazing city of ours, the Jewish people’s eternal capital,” he said. “It belongs to the Right and the Left, it belongs to the religious and the secular.”

But it wasn’t a faux-pas that cost Porush the election. It was a combination of disastrous political deal-making and a split in the Chareidi camp between Porush and the Ger Chassidim that set religious politics squarely on its head.

The first ingredient in the recipe for failure was a deal brokered between the two factions of the United Torah Judaism party, (Chassidic) Agudat Israel and (Lithuanian) Degel HaTorah. Outgoing Mayor Uri Lupolianski (Degel HaTorah) was first elected to office in 2003. The bargain stipulated that Lupolianski would not run for re-election, turning over the reins to Porush (Agudat Israel). Lupolianski, popular and respected in the city, would have been expected to win. But Porush was hampered by his image as a veteran of the Chareidi political machine. He attempted to deflect skepticism, asking that “[people] refrain from judging me according to the length of my beard but rather according to my experience and [my] ability.”

Even that might not have been enough to ensure defeat. More significant was a historic — if infamous — rupture between Porush and the Ger Chassidim. Stemming from a dispute with Ger politician/UTJ chairman Yakov Litzman over a deal that excluded Ger from its traditional leadership of Chinuch Atzamai (the Chareidi education network in Israel), the Gerrer camp went all-out in its fight against Porush. From editorials denouncing Porush, to charges of election tampering and mischief sabotage, it seemed that there was no limit to Ger’s intent to bring defeat to Rabbi Porush.

Jerusalem wasn’t the only city affected; the rumpus created a noticeable ripple effect on other mayoral elections around Israel. In both Beit Shemesh and Beitar Illit, the dispute wrecked Agudat Israel-Degel HaTorah power-sharing agreements; splintered alliances between Chassidic sects; and drew in some of Israel’s most important rabbinic figures.

Porush leads a group within Agudat Israel which unites over a dozen small Chassidic groups in the faction. The break with Ger weakens Agudat Israel’s position inside United Torah Judaism vis-à-vis Degel HaTorah, and it represents a realignment of traditional party loyalties. With some of his own Boyar Chassidim pitted against him, and other UTJ officials now disputing over positions within the party, the quarrel portends uncertainty for UTJ’s future in the coming national elections. Religious voters do not traditionally deviate from established party loyalties; the fracas over Jerusalem heralds the unprecedented possibility of constituency defections.

Mayor-elect Barkat won on a platform of inclusion meant to soothe secular voters. Mayor Lupolianski was able to sustain the delicate secular-religious-Arab balance in the city on the strength of his experience as deputy mayor under Ehud Olmert and on his reputation as founder of Yad Sarah, an organization which helps needy Israelis across the religious spectrum.

Jerusalem mayors share a nearly insurmountable challenge. They must maintain a balance between the prosaic needs of daily urban management; while keeping an eye on the tension-wire of international affairs that invites constant media and political focus.

Whether Barkat is up to the challenge is anyone’s guess. The Chareidi political camp is in disarray for the first time in recent memory, and the Jerusalem elections are a bitter memory. Attention will now turn to whether the squabblers will be able to unite in the face of a significant national election on the horizon.

Dr. Nicole Brackman has written and taught extensively on Israeli and Middle Eastern politics, and is formerly a Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Currently she is an instructor of Jewish History at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. She lives in Cedarhurst with her husband and children.