The city is mismanaged with no vision and no sense of priority in budgeting. Right now, according to the recent local newspapers, faded crosswalks around town cannot be repainted because there is no money for it (Mayor Abutbol's response when he was asked for a response by the newspaper). Yet he found 30,000 for a delegation of 4 to travel to Tibet to visit a quasi-twin city.
I have nothing against the twin city program. I think potentially it is very good and very important, both for cultural reasons and for financial reasons. However when the city can't find the peanuts to repaint crosswalks, perhaps the twin city visits should not have such high priority. But that was really just an example of misplaced priorities. once can look at the state of the streets - the city did not have money to repave the streets for over 2 years. Finally they got some money and patched up some of them, while many around town are still dotted with serious potholes and cracks. Yet money is found to subsidize buses to amusement parks in other cities during vacations and to subsidize other events both in and out of town. There is not necessarily a problem with giving money to "cultural" events (though sometimes I am not sure why certain things are considered such), but when there is no money for very important things like filling the potholes, painting crosswalks, cleaning streets, expanding or building school buildings, etc. I wonder if these cultural events should really be given such high priority.
Eli Cohen has a career of administrative experience. if anyone should be able to manage and administer this city, Eli Cohen is the one who should be able to do so properly.
And as a side benefit, Eli Cohen is not anti-haredi.
I have been asked how I can support a secular, or traditional person for mayor, and if a traditional-religious city should support such a person for mayor. The truth is that whether or not he wears a kippa (he does not) is less important to me than if he can run the city properly. But more importantly, I have never supported a candidate who is anti-haredi. Even if I sometimes disagree with the haredi position on things, I do not want our leader to approach the haredi issues with an anti-haredi attitude. In Bet Shemesh, for example, there is a population of haredim that is close to 50% of the city population. That is a reality and they are not going anywhere. This population has needs, deserves services like any other person or community and there is no reason there needs to be a perpetual conflict between the various communities in Bet Shemesh. With proper administration, and proper budgeting, the city can prioritize and provide for everybody's needs adequately, rather than of one at the expense of the other. In the few months I have come to know Eli Cohen, I have never heard him say a bad word about haredim, never heard him talk about taking thigns away from them, treating them unfairly or any other negative approach. he talks about fair distribution, providing for the needs of the haredi communities, building shuls and parks and schools for them (while building cultural centers for the non-haredi parts of the city), cleanign streets in the haredi neighborhoods, and the like.
Even the haredim are beginning to realize that they are losing out because of the mismanagement of the city. The haredi press is even beginning to now give time to a secular/traditional candidate, despite already having a haredi mayor, and they are treating him fairly and letting his voice be heard.
Bechadrei has interviewed Eli Cohen, and I will translate the interview:
Cohen says that for many years haredim and secular lived together in the city with good neighborly relations. Most of the city population is traditional, and have no problem at all with the development of the city with new haredi neighborhoods and communities, nor with communities of new immigrants from the USA, from Russia and from Ethiopia. Yet during the past term of the mayor, extremists have provoked the atmosphere and have harmed the ability to cooperate with each other. The mayor tried to appease the extremists and by doing so he abandoned most of the residents. I go to many parlor meetings, including many with haredi residents, and I hear from them the greatest criticism against the mayor.
Can you be the mayor of a city that nearly half the residents are haredi?
Not only is it possible, but it is even the clear interest of the haredi community. These are things I hear repeatedly during the meetings I have with leaders in the Haredi community and at parlor meetings. As mayor I will give every resident the service he needs - the secular want a cultural center and the haredim want shuls. Both are legitimate and important. I will give the haredim everything they need, but different than the current mayor I will not give in to what the extremists are screaming and demanding, but what the haredi community really needs.
Are you better for haredim than a haredi mayor?
Why should I speak in the name of the haredi residents, I can simply quote what I am hearing from them repeatedly, in all my meetings with them. Haredi residents complain to me about the failure to deal with infrastructure in the neighborhoods, about problems with the social services, capitulating to extremists, etc. The way Abutbol has dealt with he issues harms first and foremost the haredim themselves. The people who get most harmed from the extremists are not the general residents of Bet Shemesh, most of whomno longer go into the haredi neighborhoods, but the haredi residents themselves. They have been forced to live within some form of anarchy in which whoever burns the garbage can is the one who takes control.
The policy I plan to implement is putting things to order in the public domain, and dealing with the issues properly towards all communities in the city. I do not intend to create any preferential treatment to this or that sector, but to give equality properly and transparently to everyone.
Do you have support within the haredi community?
Not a little. During the campaign and parlor meetings the haredi neighborhoods are being integrated into my schedule. We opened a headquarters in RBS A and the support we are receiving ther eis very warm. People understand the place from which I am coming and the ideas and atmosphere that I am bringing. I do not want fights and definitely not smears. I want appropriateness and reason and organized dealings with everyone. Whomever screams and protests will not get more than what he deserves - everyone will get what they need in an objective way.
You can be skeptical. You can say he is simply campaigning. But you should at least take him seriously enough to check him out. We deserve a city that is administered properly. We will all benefit from a city that is administered properly.
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