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The Habayit Hayehudi party and outgoing Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat announced Wednesday their support for Moshe Leon in the second round of the Jerusalem mayoral election. Barkat, in his statement, described Leon as "the best choice".
Leon is also negotiating with Agudat Yisrael, whose Torah councilors have instructed his local representatives to keep in touch with Leon. Likud ministers Yariv Levin and Tzachi Hanegbi also expressed their support for Leon.
Habayit Hayehudi's move is a blow to lay candidate Ofer Berkovich, who tried to win the party's approval because he needed the support of Zionist residents of the city to win.
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Habeit Hayehudi's statement said: "Moshe Leon has responded to all Habayit Hayehudi's agenda requests, which are aimed at ensuring the Zionist character of the Israeli capital." It was also agreed that the chairman of Habayit Hayehudi's faction in Jerusalem would be a deputy mayor. the portfolio of education.
In his statement, Barkat said, "I think Moshe Leon's choice in the second round is a choice that will benefit Jerusalem, which is why I decided to support him. Moshe Leon has the ability to run the city for the benefit of all its residents. From my familiarity with both candidates and my work with them, I have no doubt that Leon is the best choice for Jerusalem. "
Barkat added: "After many conversations with Moshe, in which he presented his journey and plans to run the city, I was convinced that he intended to lead Jerusalem by the 39, inclusion and dialogue with all sectors and that everyone would be equal to him. the way I have directed Jerusalem over the past decade will continue. "
Five years ago, Leon was a bitter rival to Barkat in the mayoral race and the latter attacked him severely, accusing him of corruption and claiming that his candidacy was the result of a bad deal . Since then, the two have been reconciled and Leon, in recent years, was part of the municipal coalition of Barkat. Leon was disappointed when Barkat backed Jerusalem Minister of Foreign Affairs Zeev Elkin in the first round of voting last week.
Relations between Barkat and Berkovitch, his main secular partner in the coalition, collapsed a year and a half ago and Berkovitch's Hitorerut faction left the municipal coalition. Since then, Barkat has been criticizing Berkovitch periodically. Leon thanked Barkat for his support, saying "it's very precious to me".
Agudat Yisrael, whose candidate Yossi Daitch is ranked fourth in the first round, is negotiating with Leon and should support him. However, the terms of Agudat Yisrael and their enthusiasm are not yet clear. An Agudat-Yisrael source said the party's approval of Leon was expected, but apparently apparently without conviction and would not ask party supporters to get involved in the campaign. At this point, however, even weak approval could tip the balance in Leon's favor.
In last week's vote, Leon received over 79,000 votes, or 33%. Berkovitch obtained 68,000 votes, or 29%.
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