 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Jerusalem mayoral election was held on 30 October and 13 November 2018, to elect the mayor of Jerusalem.
With no candidate in the first round meeting the vote threshold of 40% needed to avoid a runoff election, a runoff was held on 13 November. [1] The election was won by Moshe Lion.
Incumbent mayor Nir Barkat did not seek re-election.
In March 2018, incumbent mayor Nir Barkat announced he would forgo running for a third term, and would instead run on the Likud party's list in the next Knesset election. [2]
Under a new national law, the 30 October election day was made a holiday. However, the day of the 13 November runoff election day was not. [1]
The election was part of the 2018 Israeli municipal elections.
Lion had the backing of the city's Haredi parties, which are influential in city, which has population that is more than one-fifth Haredi (between only Jews more than a third are Haredi, Arab voters who make up an estimate four in ten city's residents boycott elections). [3] Lion, who in his unsuccessful 2013 campaign for mayor had run as the Likud nominee, ran as an independent in 2018. [10]
Berkovitch positioned himself as a secular leader, opposing the influence of the Haredi. [3]
Elkin boasted the endorsements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and outgoing mayor Nir Barkat. [3] He was considered the race's front-runner. [11]
Unlike other Haredi political parties, the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael party did not support Lion, and instead backed the candidacy of Yossi Daitsh. [1]
Berkovitch and Elkin assailed each other. Elkin characterized Berkovitch as young and incompetent. Berkovitch characterized the filthiness of the city as a direct failure of Elkin's as the nation's environmental minister. Berkovitch also cited allegations by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel against Elkin, which accused Elkin of using his ministerial post for self-enrichment. [12]
Not originally seen as a leading candidate when he entered the race, Berkovitch was seen as benefiting from the crowded size of the field of candidates running, and rose to become a front-runner. [13]
| Date | Poll source | Rachel Azaria | Offer Berkovitch | Yossi Daitsh | Ze'ev Elkin | Chaim Epstein | Yossi Havilio | Moshe Lion | Avi Salman | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late-October 2018 | Shvakim Panorama [4] | - | 30.7% | 11.4% | 23.6% | - | - | 29.8% | 0.4% | - |
| August 2018 | Dialog (for Elkin campaign) [14] | 5.8% | 24.6% | 20.3% | 31.9% | - | - | 13.0% | ||
| August 2018 | Channel 2 [15] | 6% | 22% | 23% | 21% | 3% | 4% | 11% | 1% | |
| Early-August 2018 | Berkovitch campaign [13] | 26.9% | 25.4% | - | - | - | 11.1% |
The failure of Elkin to advance to the runoff was considered an upset defeat. [3]
The results of the first round of voting in Jerusalem, with 254,326 voters participating of 638,065 eligible (a 39.86% turnout), are as follows. Of the 254,326 votes, 248,585 were valid.
| Candidate | Party name | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moshe Lion | Our Jerusalem | ירושלים שלנו, Yerushalayim Shelanu | 81,426 | 32.76% |
| Ofer Berkovitch | Awakening | התעוררות, Hit'orerut | 73,079 | 29.40% |
| Ze'ev Elkin | Jerusalem Will Succeed | ירושלים תצליח, Yerushalayim Tatzli'ah | 49,681 | 19.99% |
| Yossi Daitsh | Agudat Yisrael | אגודת ישראל | 42,289 | 17.01% |
| Avi Salman | I'm Jerusalem | אני ירושלים, Ani Yerushalayim | 2,110 | 0.85% |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior [16] | ||||
Heading into the runoff, Lion continued to enjoy backing from the Haredi community, including the endorsements of the Degel HaTorah and Shas Haredi political partie, as well as the right wing Yisrael Beiteinu party. [10] [1] However, the day before the election, the rabbinical council of the Agudat Yisrael party instructed their supporters not to vote in the runoff, which was seen as aiding Berkovitch's chances against Lion. [1]
Lion received the endorsement of outgoing mayor Barkat in the runoff. [1] He was also endorsed by the local chapters of the Likud and The Jewish Home parties, as well as several Likud party ministers. [1]
Lion was seen as the candidate in the runoff representing the right wing. [10]
Prime Minister Netanyahu did not endorse a candidate in the runoff. [1]
As is typical, the Arab populace in East Jerusalem boycotted the election. [7]
| Date | Poll source | Offer Berkovitch | Ze'ev Elkin | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2018 | Dialog (for Elkin campaign) [14] | 38.8% | 61.2% |
The results of the second round of voting in Jerusalem are as follows. The voter turnout was 35%.
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moshe Lion | 112,744 | 50.85% | |
| Ofer Berkovitch | 108,979 | 49.15% | |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior [17] – provisional data | |||
Likud, officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing parties. Likud's landslide victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had lost power. In addition, it was the first time in Israel that a right-wing party received the most votes. After ruling the country for most of the 1980s, the party lost the Knesset election in 1992. Likud's candidate Benjamin Netanyahu won the vote for prime minister in 1996 and was given the task of forming a government after the 1996 elections following Yitzak Rabin's assassination. Netanyahu's government fell apart after a vote of no confidence, which led to elections being called in 1999 and Likud losing power to the One Israel coalition led by Ehud Barak.
Gideon Moshe Sa'ar is an Israeli politician currently serving as Israel's Foreign Minister and member of the Knesset for the party New Hope.
Yisrael Beiteinu is a conservative political party in Israel, generally classified as far-right. The party's base was originally secular Russian-speaking immigrants, although support from that demographic is in decline. The party describes itself as "a national movement with the clear vision to follow in the bold path of Zev Jabotinsky", the founder of Revisionist Zionism. It has primarily represented immigrants from the former Soviet Union, although it has attempted to expand its appeal to the broader Jewish Israeli population.
Meir Porush is an Israeli politician who has served as a member of the Knesset for the Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction of United Torah Judaism in several spells since 1996. He served as the Deputy Minister of Education.
Ze'ev Elkin is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a Member of the Knesset for the New Hope Party. He was previously a member of the Knesset for Kadima, Likud and the National Unity Party and served as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Minister of Housing and Construction, Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Minister of Environmental Protection, Minister of Higher Education and Minister of Water Resources.
Nir Barkat is an Israeli businessman and politician currently serving as Minister of Economy. He served as mayor of Jerusalem between the years 2008–2018.
Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 22 January 2013 to elect the 120 members of the nineteenth Knesset. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. The elections were later called in early October 2012 after failure to agree on the budget for the 2013 fiscal year.
Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 March 2015 to elect the 120 members of the twentieth Knesset. Disagreements within the governing coalition, particularly over the budget and a "Jewish state" proposal, led to the dissolution of the government in December 2014. The Labor Party and Hatnuah formed a coalition, called Zionist Union, with the hope of defeating the Likud party, which had led the previous governing coalition along with Yisrael Beiteinu, Yesh Atid, The Jewish Home, and Hatnuah.
A leadership election was held by the Likud party on 31 December 2014. It was won by incumbent Prime Minister and leader of Likud Benjamin Netanyahu.
Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 9 April 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 21st Knesset. Elections had been due in November 2019, but were brought forward following a dispute between members of the current government over a bill on national service for the ultra-Orthodox population, as well as impending corruption charges against incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The thirty-fifth government of Israel, or the Netanyahu–Gantz government, was the government of Israel which was sworn in on 17 May 2020 and dissolved on 13 June 2021.
Moshe Lion, or Moshe Leon, is an Israeli politician who is currently the Mayor of Jerusalem. He previously served as a member of the Jerusalem City Council, director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, Chairman of the Israel Railways, and head of the Jerusalem Development Authority.
Ofer Berkovitch is the founder and chairman of Jerusalem's Hitorerut in Jerusalem political movement, a member of the Jerusalem city council, and Hitorerut's 2018 candidate for Mayor of Jerusalem. Previously, Berkovitch served as Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor and has held municipal portfolios for culture, economic development, and the city center among others.
Aharon Yosef "Yossi" Daitsh (also spelled Deutch or Deitch is an Israeli politician who served as deputy mayor of Jerusalem, as a member of the Shlomei Emunim faction of the Agudat Yisrael party. Before the Jerusalem municipal election in October 2018, he held the Haredi housing portfolio, and served as deputy to the regional building and development portfolio holder.
Snap legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 September 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 22nd Knesset. Following the previous elections in April, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition. On 30 May, the Knesset voted to dissolve itself and trigger new elections, in order to prevent Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz from being appointed Prime Minister-designate. This election marked the first time the Knesset voted to dissolve itself before a government had been formed.
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is an Israeli politician, media expert and policy maker. She currently serves as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem in charge of foreign relations, international economic development and tourism. She is also the co-founder and founding member of the UAE–Israel Business Council. In 2023, she was appointed by Israel's foreign minister Eli Cohen as special envoy for innovation.
Legislative elections were held in Israel on 23 March 2021 to elect the 120 members of the 24th Knesset. It was the fourth Knesset election in two years, amidst the continued political deadlock following the previous three elections in April 2019, September 2019 and 2020. Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett announced that they had formed a rotation government on 2 June 2021, which was approved on 13 June 2021.
The thirty-sixth government of Israel, or the Bennett–Lapid government, was the cabinet of Israel that was formed on 13 June 2021 after the 2021 Knesset elections. On 2 June 2021 a coalition agreement was signed between Yesh Atid, Blue and White, Yamina, the Labor Party, Yisrael Beiteinu, New Hope, Meretz, and the United Arab List. The coalition is notable for its inclusion of an Arab Muslim party. The government was succeeded by the thirty-seventh government of Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, on 29 December 2022.
Elections are held in Jerusalem to elect the city's mayor. Currently, such elections are regularly scheduled to elect mayors to five-year terms.
The 2013 Jerusalem mayoral election was held on 2 October, 2013, and saw the reelection of Nir Barkat.
