Votes are in for municipal elections, Jerusalem readies for a Nov. 13 showdown

JNS.ORG

Israelis woke on Oct. 31 to the tallies of municipal elections conducted across the country Oct. 30, which showed that Jerusalem would face a runoff for mayor between secular candidate Ofer Berkovitch and haredi-backed candidate Moshe Lion, and that Haifa’s mayor of 15 years was upset by the city’s first female mayor-elect.

Moshe Lion, who was supported by Israeli ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Aryeh Deri, got 33 percent of the vote while head of the secular faction “Hitorerut,” Offer Berkovitch, received 29 percent.

Because the two received the highest number of votes, but neither reached the 40 percent threshold, the two will face off in a second election to take place on Nov. 13. Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who received just 19 percent of the votes and haredi candidate Yossi Daitch, who got 17 percent, were knocked out of the running.

Three-term Haifa mayor Yona Yahav lost to architect Einat Kalisch Rotem, who scored 55 percent of the vote, while Tel Aviv incumbent Ron Huldai was re-elected to his fifth term with 46 percent of the vote.

Rishon Letzion Mayor Dov Tzur, who was arrested last year on suspicion of corruption, got 31.8 percent of the vote in his city, while rival Raz Kinstlich, who called on Tzur to quit the race, got 21.7 percent, which means the two will also vie for the seat until Nov. 13.

Another runoff will occur in Ramat Gan, where incumbent Yisrael Zinger will oppose former MK and former Israeli ambassador to UNESCO and the OECD Carmel Shama-Hacohen.

In yet another runoff, Ra’anana incumbent Eitan Ginzburg, the first openly homosexual mayor in Israel, received fewer votes than opponent Chaim Broyde in the first round.

In Kfar Saba, incumbent Rai Sa’ar will run against former police deputy commissioner Yossi Sedbon.

Additional run-offs will occur in Hod

Headstones toppled at small Jewish cemetery in Texas

Headstones were pushed over at a small Jewish cemetery in the Texas port city of Orange. The vandalism at the Hebrew Rest Cemetery, which is more than 100 years old, was discovered in the morning of Oct. 29 by the groundskeeper, who had arrived to mow the lawn, the local CBS affiliate KFDM reported. Permanent vases also were ripped from their bases. Orange police are investigating the incident as criminal mischief, according to the report. Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. praised the city’s diversity and said that bigotry and hate will not be tolerated within its borders.

Jewish shop owner stabbed in botched Paris robbery

A Jewish shop owner in Paris was stabbed and seriously wounded in what police are saying was a botched robbery. The incident, which the victim is expected to survive, happened Oct. 28 on Voltaire Boulevard, near the Bataclan night club that terrorists attacked in 2015, Le Parisien reported Oct. 29. Nathan Chalom Mimoun, who is in his 40s, lost a significant amount of blood from stab wounds to his arms caused by two men wearing helmets that attempted to rob his phone shop. But immediate medical intervention stabilized his condition and his injuries are no longer considered life threatening. Mimoun’s wife, who was present during the robbery, said the robbers did not indicate that they had singled him out for violence because he is Jewish, according to Sammy Ghozlan, president of National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism.

Ky. man dresses son, 5, as Hitler for Halloween party

A Kentucky man dressed his 5-year-old son as Adolf Hitler and himself as a Nazi soldier for a Halloween event. Bryant Goldbach eventually admitted it was in “bad taste” but said he did not realize the costumes would cause so much controversy. Prior to the acknowledgement, he wrote in a Facebook post how upset he was that his son was threatened over his costume and lashed out at liberalism and the “so called ‘Tolerant Left.’” In the post, Goldbach said he and his family love history and often dress as historical figures.

Hasharon, Ma’alot-Tarshiha and Rosh Ha’ayin.

Landslide victories were declared for

Beersheva mayoral incumbent Ruvik Danilovich and Netivot Mayor Yehiel Zohar.

President-elect of Brazil plans to close Palestinian embassy

In addition to moving his country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro plans to shut down the Palestinian embassy in Brasilia. “Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here,” said Bolsonaro recently. “You do not negotiate with terrorists.”

Abbas: ‘Will continue to pay families of martyrs, prisoners’

Speaking at a PLO Central Council meeting, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian government will continue to pay salaries to the families of martyrs, prisoners, and wounded Palestinians, even if salaries are subtracted from Palestinian money held by Israel. He said that the families are sacred, and stated: “Even if we only have one cent left, it should go to them and not to the living.” Abbas also denied the claim that there are only 40,000 Palestinian refugees left, and said that today there are [5 million] Palestinian refugees. Abbas’s remarks aired on Palestine TV on Oct. 28.

– Compiled from JTA

University of Michigan hosts ‘pro-BDS’ event, despite recent anti-Israel incidents

Despite the recent wave of anti-Israel incidents at the University of Michigan – and following the deadliest attack on Jews in history of the United States – the school’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies held a town-hall program fostering BDS Oct. 29, featuring advocates of the anti-Israel movement. The event was held 48 hours after a gunman shot and killed 11 Jews in Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, leaving six others injured.