Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski will not run for another term in November's municipal elections. His party, United Torah Judaism,
will elect a new candidate for mayor, who will compete against Russian-Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak
and his Social Justice party.
At the moment, the leading candidate is Knesset Member Meir Porush.
Lupolianski heads the UTJ faction in Jerusalem, which is comprised of the Hasidic Agudat Israel and the Lithuanian Degel Hatorah.
In the previous elections, five years ago, Agudath Israel endorsed the Lithuanian candidate in order to form a united front against businessman Nir Barkat. The parties agreed that in the 2008 elections, Degel Hatorah will support Agudath Israel's candidate.
Agudath Israel's national council will convene next Monday in order to name its candidate. Another contender, apart from Porush, is Deputy Jerusakem Mayor Yehoshua Pollack.
Lupolianski himself can still be named as the faction's representatives, but his chances of being are slim due to the agreement between the parties. In any event, he has no plan to violate the agreement between the two factions.
The Jerusalem Municipality said in response that "Mayor Uri Lupolianski honors agreements."
Jerusalem's first haredi mayor is not expected to make the transition to the Knesset. "If Lupolianski does not compete for the role of mayor, he will be interested in returning to his previous, voluntary job as chairman of the Yad Sarah organization," the municipality said.
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