Kulanu MK throws hat into ring for Jerusalem mayor
Rachel Azaria becomes first female candidate in this year’s mayoral race, joining an already crowded field of contenders
A lawmaker from the coalition Kulanu party declared Sunday she will run for Jerusalem mayor in the upcoming municipal elections, joining a crowded field of candidates vying for the leadership of Israel’s capital.
With her announcement, MK Rachel Azaria became the first female candidate to enter this year’s mayoral race.
“I entered politics for Jerusalem when the situation in the city wasn’t simple and the negative migration was at its peak,” Azaria said in a statement. “I was called to the task and I answered.”
Azaria, a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem and city council member for the Yerushalmim party, described her decision as a homecoming after three years in the Knesset.
“The growing public desire to see more women contend for and become a part of the national and local leadership, along with the calls and support of many residents from different sectors, as well as my deep personal desire to act for the good of Jerusalem, brought me to the decision to return home to the place where my heart is,” she said.
The Jerusalem-born Azaria, 40, thanked Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, the Kulanu party leader, for inviting her to join his party and serve as one of its Knesset members after the March 2015 elections.
“Now, with more experience and public roles, I am returning to work for Jerusalem — from Jerusalem,” she said.
Azaria’s entry to the mayoral race made her the third serving lawmaker to declare her candidacy, along with Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Zionist Union MK Nachman Shai.
Other prominent candidates include Deputy Mayor Moshe Lion, who lost to Mayor Nir Barkat in the 2015 elections, and Ofer Berkovich, the 34-year-old head of the Hitorerut faction. Berkovich, a city council member and former deputy mayor, enjoys the support of the secular public and some of the city’s more liberal religious residents.
A pair of lesser known candidates have also announced they will run on a secular ticket while two ultra-Orthodox deputy mayors have signaled their interest in running, hoping to capitalize on the 32 percent of the city’s population that identifies as Haredi — and whose voter share is even higher since the city’s Arab residents generally boycott the municipal vote.
Barkat, who announced in March he would not seek a third term and instead run for the Knesset with the ruling Likud party, has endorsed Elkin, a fellow Likud member and ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
