Benjamin Netanyahu officially declared Tuesday his support for Zeev Elkin's candidacy for the post of mayor of Jerusalem, even though Prime Minister Likoud's colleague will obtain an independent ticket.
"I support Minister Zeev Elkin for the Mayor of Jerusalem," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. "As a Member of Parliament and Minister, Minister Elkin has worked hard on behalf of our capital city and has proven that it is important to him and that he is very precious to him and I wish him every success!"
In recent days, Elkin, who is the Minister of Environmental Protection and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, has decided to stand for an independent ticket after efforts to support him have failed.
Netanyahu's support was unexpected. "I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his trust and support," said Elkin. "We will continue to work together for a stronger Jerusalem."
According to a source close to the details, Likud officials put strong pressure on Netanyahu to support Elkin, but he delayed because Coalition President David Amsalem, one of the leaders of the Likud in Jerusalem, had opposed it. Netanyahu was waiting to see if Amsalem could change his mind.
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According to the source, Netanyahu changed approach when he learned that the Likud group in Jerusalem was in close contact with the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Yossi Deutsch, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the elections of this year. year in the coming days. Netanyahu, who is close to Elkin, has therefore decided to meet Elkin 's request for his support.
Deutsch held a series of meetings with various Hasidic leaders, accompanied by Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman and Deputy Minister of Education Meir Porush.
The secretariat of Agudat Yisrael, an essentially Hasidic party, was to meet on Tuesday evening to approve Deutsch's candidacy for mayor. Deutsch will seek to win the support of the Degel Hatorah party, representing the ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian non-Hasidic, and a key ultra-Orthodox party, Shas.
Elkin won the support of a number of prominent religious-Zionist rabbis, including Rabbi Dov Lior, the former Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner and Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, President of the rabbinical organization Tzohar.
Six other candidates run for mayor, including the accountant Moshe Leon, who has the unofficial support of ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Arye Dery, and Chaim Epstein, a member of the Jerusalem faction, the ultra- Orthodox formerly led by the late Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach.
