At a meeting of the Jerusalem City Council, religious and other factions
expressed satisfaction over the final configuration of the municipal
coalition. The coalition was finalized at the firm insistence of the
chareidi and religious parties as well as two non-religious parties.
It does not include Arnon Yekutieli, chairman of the Yerushalayim
Achshav party, due to his violent attacks against the Torah-observant
community, despite strenuous efforts made by Mayor Olmert to get him
in.
The coalition includes the almost all of the parties in the municipality,
except for two Leftist parties, Meretz and Yerushalayim Achshav. Shimon
Shetreet's Yerushalayim Labor party is included.
At the Council meeting held last week, the appointments of eight
deputy mayors were approved by Mayor Ehud Olmert. They are: UTJ members
Rabbi Uri Lapolianski, Rabbi Uri Maklev and Rabbi Chaim Miller; Shas
members Rabbi Eli Simchayof and Rabbi Shlomo Attias; Rabbi Shmuel
Shkeidi of the Mafdal, Yigal Amedi of Yerushalayim Melukedet; Ms.
Larisa Gerstein of Kehillos LeMa'an Yerushalayim and Professor Shimon
Shetreet.
The City Council also approved the following appointments: Rabbi
Uri Lapolianski, Chairman of the Department for Planning and Building;
Rabbi Uri Maklev, Chairman of the Department for Public Structures;
Rabbi Chaim Miller, Chairman of the Department for the Municipal Beautification;
Rabbi Yechiel Turgeman, Chairman of the Health and Environment Department;
Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Cohen, Chairman of the Chareidi Education Department;
Rabbi Eliezer Gelbstein, Chairman of the Torah Culture Department;
Rabbi Avrohom Feiner, Chairman of the Youth and Social Department
(Chen Chareidi).
In addition, the positions of the other members of the city's
administration and council were also approved. They include: Rabbi
Eli Simchayof, Chairman of the Finance Committee; Rabbi Shlomo Attias,
Chairman of the Welfare Department and the Department for Youth Advancement;
Rabbi Shmuel Yitzchaki, Chairman of the Water and Gichon Company Coordination
Department; Yigal Amedi, Chairman of the Sanitation, Sports and Neighborhoods
Department; Shmuel Shkeidi, Chairman of the Education Department;
Rabbi David Simchon, Chairman of the Emergency and Security Department
as well as of the Fire and Rescue Services; Yehoram Gaon, Chairman
of the Culture Department; Ms. Larisa Gerstein, Chairman of the Tourism
and Foreign Affairs Department; Yossi Telgan, Chairman of the Transportation
and Engineering Department; Shimon Shetreet, Titular Deputy of the
Department for Economy and Academic Education and Ms. Mina Fenton,
Chairperson of the Department for Jewish Heritage.
The following were appointed chairmen of various other committees:
Rabbi Uri Maklev, Chairman of the Committee for the Presentation of
Planning Programs; Rabbi Chaim Miller, Chairman of the Allocation
Department and Rabbi Eliezer Gelbstein, Chairman of the Purchasing
Committee. The City Council also approved the appointment of Rafi
Peled, a member of Mayor Olmert's party and also the chairman of the
Israel Electric Company, to the position of Chairman of the City Council,
a newly created post.
At the end of the meeting, it became clear that the resolution
of the chareidi and religious factions over the issue of the inclusion
of Arnon Yekutieli in the coalition resulted in marked achievements
for the chareidi community.
UTJ is very pleased by the strong stance taken by the members
of the Deliberation Committee throughout their discussions with the
mayor. This firmness yielded excellent results at the conclusion of
the three-month-long deliberations. UTJ notes that it has been proven
beyond a doubt that unity between religious factions is worthwhile.
