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2024 Jerusalem municipal election

The 2024 Jerusalem municipal election was held on 27 February 2024, to elect the mayor and members of the City Council.

2024 Jerusalem municipal election
← 2018 27 February 2024 2028 →
All 31 seats to the Jerusalem City Council
Turnout31.4%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Moshe Lion Yosi Havilio Haim Epstein
Party One Jerusalem Jerusalem Union Bnei Torah
Seats before 1 2 1
Seats won 2 4 1
Popular vote 26,716 7,018
Percentage 7.22% 11.66% 3.06%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Adir Schwartz Eliezer Rauchberger Yitzchak Brim
Party Hitorerut Degel HaTorah Agudat Yisrael
Seats before 5 6 3
Seats won 3 6 3
Percentage 10.88% 19.19% 9.84%
  Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party
 
Leader Aryeh King Zvika Cohen Hagit Moshe
Party United with Aryeh King Shas Mafdal–Religious Zionism
Seats before 2 5 2
Seats won 2 6 2
Percentage 5.23% 18.23% 4.99%
Mayor before election

Moshe Lion
One Jerusalem

Elected mayor

Moshe Lion
One Jerusalem

Background and system

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The election was part of the 2024 Israeli municipal elections. Originally scheduled for 31 October 2023, the elections were delayed due to the Israel–Hamas war until 30 January 2024, and then further delayed until 27 February 2024, because of the large number of candidates serving as reservists.[1]

Unlike legislative elections, where only Israeli citizens (resident in Israel) who are 18 or older are eligible to vote, all Israeli citizens (resident in Israel) and permanent residents who are 17 or older are eligible to vote in municipal elections in Israel.

On election day, voters received two envelopes, one yellow and one white. When entering the polling booth, the voter chose one yellow ticket for the mayor and inserted it into the yellow envelope, and one white ticket for the City Council and inserted it into the white envelope.

There are 31 seats on the City Council, the maximum permitted by law.[2] If the elected mayor's list would not win any seats, the mayor would be added to the Council as a thirty-second member. The seats are distributed using proportional representation and the largest remainder method, with a threshold of 0.75 of the votes needed for a seat.

Mayoral candidates

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Two candidates ran for Mayor: Mayor Moshe Lion, and Deputy Mayor Yosi Havilio.[3]

A third candidate, Haim Epstein of the ultra-Orthodox party Bnei Torah, dropped out. For the first time since 1967, an Israeli Arab, attorney Waleed Abu Tayeh from Nazareth, announced candidacy for the office of mayor,[4] but ultimately did not file his candidacy on the mayoral election; he was third on the Kol Toshaveha list for City Council.

Incumbent mayor Moshe Lion headed the One Jerusalem list, and has been endorsed by most right-wing and religious parties.[5] Yosi Havilio is heading the Jerusalem Union (Ha'ihud Ha'yerushalmi) list, composed of five parties: Havilio's party Saving Jerusalem, Meretz (Dr. Laura Wharton), Labor (Eran Ben Yehuda), Yesh Atid (Yeela Bitton De-Lange), and New Deal, consisting of organizations active in the 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests. Havilio is seen as representing the left-wing and secular populations of Jerusalem, with Lion having the backing of the Orthodox-Zionist and Haredi parties.

City Council Lists

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There are 31 seats on the City Council, the maximum permitted by law. If the elected mayor's list does not win any seats, the mayor is added to the Council as a thirty-second member, as happened in 2018. Fifteen lists competed for the 31 seats.[6][7] Hitorerut (formerly headed by Ofer Berkovitz, currently headed by Adir Schwartz[8]), winner of the most seats in the previous election, received an endorsement from the National Unity party. There is a new political list called All Its Residents (Kol Toshaveha) headed by an Arab Israeli woman from Nazareth, Sondos Alhot.[9][10] Palestinians living in East Jerusalem are permanent residents of Israel, not citizens. Thus, they have the right to vote in the Jerusalem municipal election, but not in national elections for Knesset. An April 2021 op-ed noted that Arabs may play a major role in the 2023 municipal election,[11] and another op-ed encouraged Arabs to become more politically active in the race for mayor and elections for Jerusalem City Hall.[12]

Bold indicates a mayoral candidate; italic indicates a mayoral candidate who dropped out before the elections.

# Letter on Ballot List Leader Seats before election Associated national party Endorsed mayoral candidate[13] Results[14]
Votes % Seats
1 א Jerusalem Union, האיחוד הירושלמי Yosi Havilio 2 Yesh Atid, Meretz, Labor, New Deal Havilio 26,716 11.66 4
2 ג Agudat Yisrael Jerusalem, אגודת ישראל ירושלים Yitzchak Brim 3 Agudat Yisrael Lion 22,547 9.84 3
3 ד Jerusalem First, קודם ירושלים Elon Levy - 892 0.39
4 דגל Degel HaTorah, דגל התורה Eliezer Rauchberger 6 Degel HaTorah Lion 43,976 19.19 6
5 דף All Its Residents, כל תושביה Sondos Alhot - 2,449 1.07
6 דרך Jerusalem Unity, אחדות ירושלים Avishai Cohen 2 Lion 1,741 0.76
7 הת Hitorerut[a] in Jerusalem, התעוררות בירושלים Adir Schwartz 5 National Unity - 24,931 10.88 3
8 טב Mafdal - Religious Zionism, מפדל-הציונות הדתית Hagit Moshe 2 Mafdal–Religious Zionism Lion 11,444 4.99 2
9 יא One Jerusalem, ירושלים אחת Moshe Lion 1 Lion 16,539 7.22 2
10 יב Jerusalem Will Succeed, ירושלים תצליח Yehuda Ben Yosef 2 Lion 2,816 1.23
11 מחל Likud for Jerusalem City Council, הליכוד למועצת העיר ירושלים Yael Antebi 1 Likud Lion 8,214 3.58 1
12 ני Jerusalem in Noam[b],ירושלים בנעם Eldad Rabinowitz Noam Lion 6,081 2.65 1
13 עץ Bnei Torah, בני תורה Haim Epstein 1 Epstein 7,018 3.06 1
14 ק United with Aryeh King, מאוחדים Aryeh King 2 Otzma Yehudit Lion 11,991 5.23 2
15 שס Shas, התאחדות הספרדים שומרי תורה תנועתו של מרן הרב עובדיה יוסף זצ"ל Zvika Cohen 5 Shas Lion 41,771 18.23 6
Total 229,481 100.0 31

Issues

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Key issues in the 2024 municipal election include real estate prices and development, highway repairs, and the rapidly spreading influence of Haredi Judaism in the city. Likewise, expansion of the Jerusalem Light Rail,[15] especially the controversial blue line on Emek Refaim in the German Colony and Katamon,[16][17] and a cable car from the First Station to Jerusalem's Old City and, eventually, the Mount of Olives divide voters.[18]

Another issue facing West Jerusalemites is the debate over the increasing number of high-rise towers. Opponents include Kiryat HaYovel's Yuvalim 2041 activist group.[19][20] The debate centers around whether the high-rise towers threaten the city's traditional character or not.[21]

Polling

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Mayoral

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Date Poll source Moshe
Lion 		Yosi
Havilio 		Haim
Epstein 		Undecided Not Voting
16 September 2023 Maariv[22] 48% 18% - 34%
9 February 2024 Maariv[23] 43% 18% 2% 31% 6%

City Council

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Date Poll source Jerusalem Union Hitorerut One Jerusalem Agudat Yisrael Degel HaTorah Likud United with Aryeh King Shas All Its Residents Jerusalem Unity Mafdal - Religious Zionism Jerusalem Will Succeed Jerusalem First Bnei Torah Noam Olim to Jerusalem
30 October 2018 2018 election 2 5 1 3 6 1 2 5 2 2 2 1
13 February 2024 Srugim[24] 6 3 7 2 5 1 3 4

Results

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2024 Jerusalem mayoral election results
Candidate Party name Votes %
Moshe Lion One Jerusalem TBA 81.5%
Yosi Havilio Jerusalem Union TBA 18.5%
Source: Ministry of the Interior[25]
2024 Jerusalem municipal election results[26]
Party Votes Seats
Degel HaTorah TBD 6
Shas TBD 6
Jerusalem Union (Meretz, Yesh Atid, Labor and New Contract) TBD 4
Agudat Yisrael TBD 3
Hitorerut TBD 3
Mafdal-Religious Zionism TBD 2
One Jerusalem TBD 2
United with Aryeh King TBD 2
Bnei Torah TBD 1
Likud TBD 1
Noam TBD 1

Notes

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  1. ^ lit. "Awakening"
  2. ^ "Noam" literally meaning "Pleasantness"

References

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  1. ^ "Israeli Cabinet Votes to Delay Local Elections Until Late February Due to Gaza War". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ Breuer, Eliav (22 February 2024). "Municipal Elections – a Basic Guide". The Jerusalem Post.
  3. ^ "פורטל הבחירות לרשויות המקומיות". פורטל הבחירות לרשויות המקומיות (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  4. ^ Pacchiani, Gianluca (22 August 2023). "Fighting community's boycott of politics, lawyer runs to be Jerusalem's 1st Arab mayor". Times of Israel.
  5. ^ "נציגי אגו"י ירושלים נפגשו עם ראש העיר: "שואפים לשתף פעולה למען כלל תושבי העיר"". חרדים10. 22 February 2024.
  6. ^ "הבחירות לרשויות המקומיות". Ministry of the Interior (Hebrew and Arabic, only). 1 February 2024.
  7. ^ Cidor, Peggy (17 September 2023). "Jerusalem elections: A look at the candidates and what they want". The Jerusalem Post.
  8. ^ Cidor, Peggy (10 February 2023). "Adir Schwartz: The 29-year-old leader of Jerusalem's Hitorerut". The Jerusalem Post.
  9. ^ Kuttab, Daoud (27 September 2023). "Palestinian Jerusalemites Form List and File to Enter Upcoming Municipal Election, Bucking Decades of Boycott". Jerusalem Story.
  10. ^ Pacchiani, Gianluca (8 September 2023). "The woman who teaches Jewish Israelis how to protest in Arabic". Times of Israel.
  11. ^ Gil, Avi (4 February 2021). "Ra'am, Jerusalem and the one-state solution". Ynet News.
  12. ^ Baskin, Gershon (16 February 2022). "Palestinians should run for mayor of Jerusalem, city council - opinion". The Jerusalem Post.
  13. ^ Gamish, Rafi (19 February 2024). "ליאון, חביליו או אפשטיין - במי תומכות הרשימות המתמודדות למועצת העירייה? | כל העיר". כל העיר ירושלים (in Hebrew). Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  14. ^ "נבחרים למוצעה". עיריית ירושלים בחירות 2024.
  15. ^ "Jerusalem Light Rail Project Divides Its ultra-Orthodox Community". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Jerusalem's German Colony: light rail extension will ruin Emek Refaim". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Emek Refaim Jerusalem light rail gets final approval". Globes. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  18. ^ Salman, Oren Liebermann, Michael Schwartz, Abeer (5 November 2019). "Israel approves controversial cable cars in Jerusalem". CNN. Retrieved 1 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Tower Boom Threatens to Render Jerusalem Unrecognizable". Haaretz. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Changing the Jerusalem skyline". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  21. ^ "'Jerusalem's Burj Khalifa' Will Reshape the City's Urban Landscape". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  22. ^ "משה ליאון יכהן קדנציה נוספת כראש עיריית ירושלים? | סקר "מעריב"". www.maariv.co.il. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  23. ^ "סקר "מעריב" בירושלים: האם יוסי חביליו מצליח להיצמד למשה ליאון?". www.maariv.co.il. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  24. ^ "סקר מאגר מוחות: חגית משה לא עוברת; ליאון מזנק וכמה קינג". סרוגים (in Hebrew). Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Jerusalem's Moshe Lion, Tel Aviv's Ron Huldai cruise to victory in mayoral races". The Times of Israel. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  26. ^ "In first, ultra-Orthodox parties win majority on Jerusalem city council". The Times of Israel. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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