Netanyahu associate to run for Jerusalem mayor

Moshe Lion, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will launch his official campaign for Jerusalem mayor on Monday, running against incumbent Nir Barkat.

Barkat, some of whose policies are similar to those of the Likud, heads his own independent list in the city council.

Lion, currently the chairman of the Jerusalem Development Authority, was tapped by Netanyahu and MK Avigdor Liberman in June, and will have the backing of Likud-Beytenu and some of the parties representing the ultra-Orthodox in the city.

Last month, associates of Lion said he was a public figure who could “bridge and connect between the opposing factions in Jerusalem — mainly the Haredim, the religious and the secular.”

Lion was Netanyahu’s chief of staff from the end of 1996 to 1999 during his first term as prime minister.

Barkat has set his sights on at least one more term as mayor, but could face a tough battle if a candidate widely supported by the ultra-Orthodox community was to run.