Likud to PM: 'Revoke your support for Elkin'
After PM Netanyahu expressed support for Elkin's candidacy for Jerusalem mayor, chairman of the city's Likud branch claims his list contains members who are supported by left-wing organizations, including the New Israel Fund.
The Likud faction in Jerusalem penned a harsh letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday demanding that he removes his support for Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and mayoral candidate Ze'ev Elkin.
According to the Likud faction, the list submitted by Elkin to the city council includes members who are supported by left-wing organizations, such as the New Israel Fund (NIF).
The Jerusalem Likud faction's main complaints concern the members of the Yerushalmim municipal party, which united with Elkin's list as part of the agreement with MK Rachel Azaria (Kulanu), who dropped from the race and announced her support for Elkin.
"I am removing my candidacy out of a sense of responsibility for the city. The most suitable candidate is Minister Ze'ev Elkin, we trust him to manage this complex city wisely," Azaria said last week.
Ilan Gordo, chairman of the Likud branch in Jerusalem opened his letter to the prime minister with a jab at Elkin's conduct.
"I am writing to you with great pain. Unfortunately, on the backdrop of the forthcoming Jerusalem mayoral elections, there are those who are trying to blur the lines and mislead the public. Minister Elkin is not afraid of obscuring the facts as he convinces voters that he and the Likud are one and the same. But there is only one Likud in these elections—the list backed by the Likud Party," Gordo stated.
According to the Likud faction, Elkin's list includes several members who are supposedly supported by left-wing organizations, and therefore "the prime minister should not support them in the elections."
The letter also mentioned number two on Elkin's list— until recently a member of Yerushalmim municipal party— Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a member of "Hashgacha Pratit", a Reform Judaism organization who seeks to promote pluralistic Judaism in Israel.
According to the chairman of the Jerusalem Likud faction, "It is a well-known fact this organization is affiliated with the NIF."
In addition, the Jerusalem faction also names number five and six on Elkin's list, Nir Zuaretz and Yael Gidanian, who made it to the list as part of the agreement with MK Azaria.
According to the faction, Gidanian is an active member of several left-wing organizations such as Shaharit, Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition, and Ir Amim, which seeks to divide Jerusalem and establish a Palestinian capital in the city.
The Likud members also expressed their disapproval of number three on the list, Yehuda Ben Yosef, who is known for his work in the Yesh Atid party during the last elections.
Elisha Peleg, head of the Likud branch, also slammed Elkin for his affiliation with left wing activists.
"A candidate whose list includes a woman who has gained the support of the NIF, and the former head of the Yesh Atid headquarters who acted against the Likud and the prime minister—is not worthy of Netanyahu's support. I am convinced that when the prime minister learns all the facts, he will revoke his support for Elkin," Peleg claimed.
According to Elkin's headquarters, "the prime minister has already expressed his support for the candidacy of Minister Elkin in the clearest and most definitive way. Netanyahu personally calls on Jerusalem residents to vote for Elkin. The Likud branch should refrain from potentially harming a candidate who gained the support of both the Likud chairman and the Likud faction members."
