In a virtual repeat of the previous voting, with numbers that were a little bigger, Rabbi Moshe Abutbul, the chareidi candidate, again won election in Beit Shemesh on Tuesday in repeat elections held after the court invalidate the previous elections held when municipal elections were held all over the country. Abutbul received 19,401 votes to his opponent's 18,643. His margin of victory this time was 758 votes. The previous time it was 956 votes. About 77% of the eligible voters went to the polls this time, some 10 percent more than in the first election.
Beit Shemesh went to the polls this Tuesday for the most decisive election in its history, a contest which placed this city on the top rung of public interest which would swing the future of the city to favor or disfavor. All the residents were mobilized to the hilt to work for the `Chen' party representing Degel HaTorah, and the reelection of its mayor, Rabbi Moshe Abutbul, as per pronounced instruction of our Torah leadership.
The fateful battle in Beit Shemesh was forced upon its citizens by the court, as a follow-up of the ongoing power struggle of Lapid and Bennet in partnership with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who surprisingly came all out in favor of the outspokenly secular candidate, Eli Cohen.
Minister Naftali Bennet, chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, declared on the eve of the initial elections in the city that this would be a life-and-death showdown, which is why he came out in heavy support of the secular contender against the incumbent mayor, Rabbi Moshe Abutbul, so as to constrict the expansion of the chareidi presence in Beit Shemesh.
Concurrent to the critical election campaign for the mayoralty, another, no less decisive battle was being waged for the city council, where the Degel HaTorah representatives, Rabbi Shmuel Greenbaum and Rabbi Moshe Montag, are winding up a tenure replete with blessed activity for the roster of communities and their members in the city. In the elections forced upon the city this Tuesday, they sought the validation and appreciation of their constituents for their fine record of accomplishment in the past five years, and a vote of confidence for the upcoming five year term, together with the incoming representative, Rabbi Yisrael Silverstone.
In the voting, the Chen part of Degel HaTorah had 5,364 (4,998 in the first round), earning three seats on the city council. Shas had 5,009 (4,835) votes and got two seats. Agudas Yisroel got 3,390 (3,514) votes and two seats. Koach got 3,650 (2,699) votes and two seats. A party of supporters of the mayor got one seat (1,767 votes). This means that the chareidim will have a clear majority of the city council which they did not have after the first election.
