#0202_A_View_from_West_Jerusalem
“Less than a year until the [Jerusalem municipal] elections, and there are already several candidates. A lot of money has been poured into the campaigns but too little attention is devoted to content. In order to encourage a concrete discussion of Jerusalem's problems and the ways to deal with them, to clarify the commonalities between the candidates and to sharpen the differences between them, we have prepared a questionnaire.
First of all, we invite every candidate to answer the questionnaire and we promise to publish their answers in separate posts. And the readers are invited to take questions from here and refer candidates to Facebook discussions. The questionnaire is written in masculine terms [1] because unfortunately there are no female candidates for mayor. We wish there were.
So come on, off to work:
1. What is your position regarding the 'blue line' of the light rail on Emek Refaim? [2]
2. Are you in favor of prioritizing public transportation over private vehicles?
3. Should the parking arrangements be changed in Jerusalem? Would you add or reduce parking spaces?
4. What is your position on the issue of high-rise construction?
5. What is your preferred development direction – to expand into new neighborhoods or urban renewal?
6. How and where do you intend to build 4,000 housing units per year?
7. How do you plan to balance the municipal budget to reduce dependence on government aid [3]?
8. What is your position regarding the opening of pizzas parlors and supermarkets on Shabbat?
9. How will you increase the rate of participation in the workforce for Haredi men?
10. How will you increase the rate of participation in the workforce for Arab women?
11. What is your position on school registration areas?
12. What do you think the character of the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood should be and how will you work towards this goal? [4]
13. How will you improve the sanitation situation in Jerusalem? If it involves additional resources – where will you cut down?
14. What are your plans for economic development in Jerusalem – what types of businesses will you encourage and how?
15. How do you see the role of community administrations – a faction within the municipality or representatives of the residents?
16. What powers, if any, should the community administrations receive in your opinion?
17. Is there a need for more tourist accommodation in Jerusalem? How will you do this?
18. What is your perception of East Jerusalem? How should the gaps in infrastructures in East Jerusalem be narrowed? Where will resources come from?
19. How do you see the future of the mixed neighborhoods in the city?
20. What is your position regarding the addition of apartments at the entrance to the city? [5]
21. Should East Jerusalem remain part of the State of Israel in any future agreement? Will the neighborhoods beyond the separation wall also be apart of Jerusalem?[6]
– Alternative Jerusalem Facebook Page
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0202 Editors notes:
[1] The Hebrew language differentiates between masculine and feminine, but when referring to something generic usually the male form is used. Official (and non-official) documents often end with the sentence "The above is written in masculine terms, but refers to both sexes in equal measure."
[2] For a previous post on the issue of the proposed new Light Rail route, see: https://goo.gl/Fu2Na1.
[3] Mayor Nir Barkat is currently conducting a campaign to increase the Government's contribution to Jerusalem's budget. For more on this story, see: https://goo.gl/NPaELD.
[4] Kiryat Yovel is a neighborhood at the epicenter of a battle to determine its character between secular and Haredi residents. For more on this story, see: https://goo.gl/fqERBg.
[5] Many of the apartments being built are 'luxury accommodation' units, likely to be bought by people who live abroad for most of the year. For more on this subject, see: https://goo.gl/BQy3EV.
[6] The ‘Jerusalem’ Law is a controversial issue currently being debated in national politics, intended to allow for the division of Jerusalem and the transfer of Arab neighborhoods to a new municipality. For more on this story, see: https://goo.gl/1Qrf8d.
#Jerusalem_Municipality #Elections
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