A matter of perspective

April 11, 2010 - 2:17 PM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life

The Mamilla Mall - another source of bribery?

Driving to an interview this morning, the news talk shows on the radio were full of the latest blips in the frenetic news cycle, as my friend Amir calls it, here in Israel.

Investigative reporter Yoav Yitzhak was claiming that the Holyland property bribery scandal was only one of many that are being dug up; the huge Mamilla Mall Project outside the Old City was also a case of moneyman Alfred Akirov greasing the Ehud Olmert wheel.

The Anat Kamm affair was, of course, still at the front of the line, with security officials and Ha’aretz calling each other names, Kamm’s mom saying she’s a good girl, and Ha’aretz journalist Uri Blau hunkering down in London and refusing to give up the stolen documents he allegedly holds that were allegedly given to him by Kamm. This one’s not going to go away.

And, just as the country prepares for Holocaust Remembrance Day tonight, the Polish presidential plane goes down, throwing Israelis into a connundrum of feeling bad, but not too bad as they remember the terrible things Poles did to Jews in the Holocaust.

I was more than happy to arrive at my destination and shut off the radio. And my interview brought me back to a sense of normalcy. It was with an elderly gentleman who, as a 24-year-old moved to Palestine from New York in 1946 and quickly found himself in the Hagana.

Following a number of adventures, including being in The Jerusalem Post building when it was bombed in 1948, and witnessing the declaration of the state and the war that followed, he returned to the US in the early 1950s, became a rabbi and enjoyed a full life.

Now, only a couple years ago, he made aliya and lives in Jerusalem. Hearing him talk about his dealings with David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir was an example of Israeli history in action. And his observations on the present state of Israeli affairs, contrasting the ascetic behavior of Menachem Begin with that of Olmert, was eye-opening. But his final thought – he’s still optimistic about the future of the Jewish state – left me feeling a bit better as I left his home. When I got back to the car, I left the radio off.

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Tags: Alfred Akirov, Anat Kamm, Christmas shopping, David Ben-Gurion, Ehud Olmert, Golda Meir, Hagana, Uri Blau, Yoav Yitzhak

Jerusalem Elections 2008: The Most Crucial in Years

October 31, 2008 - 11:56 AM by Brian Blum · 3 Comments
Filed under: Israeliness, Politics

Several weeks ago I gave an Israeli take on the upcoming U.S. elections. But there’s another vote in November that may prove to be just as momentous for this country. I’m talking about the Jerusalem mayoral elections.

Five years ago, the status quo was broken when the ultra-Orthodox (haredi) community fielded a candidate for mayor for the first time…and won. Before that, haredi Jerusalemites were careful not to promote one of their own for fear that an Orthodox mayor would be forced to sanction “non-kosher” activities (such as the annual Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade). Accordingly, the last two Jerusalem mayors, Ehud Olmert and Teddy Kolleck, were both secular.

But in 2003, Uri Lupolianski ran and narrowly defeated millionaire businessman and philanthropist Nir Barkat. Lupolianski captivated both secular and religious voters with his background as the founder of the Yad Sarah organization which is dedicated to helping the elderly and disabled. He received numerous awards for his work there: the President’s Volunteer Prize; the Knesset Speaker’s Award; the Kaplan Prize for Efficiency; and in 2004, the Israel Prize.

Lupolianski wasn’t a bad mayor – he kept a decent balance between the different groups in the city and even allowed his dreaded Gay Parade to proceed (earning him considerable scorn from his constituency). More non-kosher bars and clubs opened during Lupolianski’s term than ever before.

The biggest criticism many residents had of Lupolianski was that he was dull– he showed little vision other than canceling the Safdie plan to build 20,000 homes on prime forest land that was decried by local environmentalists.

But he’s not running this year. Lupolianski is a member of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah party. In order for the entire haredi community to throw its support behind a single candidate, Degel hooked up 5 years ago with rival Agudat Yisrael, with the provision that when the next elections rolled around, an Aguda candidate would run.

The Aguda candidate is Member of Knesset Meir Porush. And that’s where the trouble starts.

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