There is a run off for Mayor of Yerusalyim on Tuesday all because the Chareidim did not vote for their own Rabbinical endorsed Chareidie candidate, Yossi Deitch!
In a stunning upset, Deitch only got 17% of the vote ..... which confirms the theory that Chareidim are no longer listening to the Rabbinical leaders .... and have figured out that when their Leaders scream that the "Torah Requires You Vote for the Charedie Deitch," that they are lying....
they did a search from entire Written and Oral Torah and couldn't find one verse commanding them to vote for a Chareidie!
And so when the election came last week, Chareidim dumped the Chareidie candidate in the proverbial garbage dump, stuck their middle fingers at their leaders and instead either stayed home like the Arabs or split their vote between the "want to be frum guy Moshe Leon" and the secular Offer Berkovich!
It is regular practice in Israeli politics for rabbis to meet politicians and secure concessions in return for an endorsement. The rabbis then order their followers to the polls in mass numbers, making them a serious political force.
But the dynamics is changing as more and more ultra-Orthodox men are working, rather than devoting themselves to full-time studying the Talmud. Small numbers are also serving in the army alongside fellow their Israelis. Both developments may ease secular resentment of the ultra-Orthodox, who are widely seen as not contributing to the country’s future.
Mr Berkovitch is hopeful that this scenario will play out in the city he hopes to lead.
“There are major changes in the ultra-Orthodox community which allow for co-existence,” he said. “It’s not the old ultra-Orthodox we knew before. Many more of them are open-minded and want to live together.”
So now there will be a runoff and may the best guy win!