Word: porush
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...mayoral race widely seen as a struggle for the soul of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, a secular, high-tech multi-millionaire and ex-paratrooper, defeated Meir Porush, candidate of the city's large, ultra-orthodox Jewish community...
...With more than 90% of the vote tallied, Barkat won with 50.7% of the vote to Porush's 42.05%. A Jewish Russian billionaire and former arms dealer, Arcady Gyadamak, failed in his bid to turn out the city's Arabs, who traditionally boycott the elections. He placed a distant third in the polls with 3.51%, while a fourth candidate, a bar owner who campaigned to legalize marijuana, collected one half percent of the vote...
...During the campaign, ultra-orthodox candidate Porush seemed a sure winner. Traditionally, the haredim vote in a solid block, obedient to their rabbis. But Porush, a snowy-bearded, autocratic "prince" of a political-religious dynasty, had angered many Hassidic Ger rabbis, known for wearing black, long-tailed robes and boxy fur hats even during the sweltering summer heat. For generations, the Porush family and the Ger have been rivals inside the cloistered Haredi community...
...ultra-religious neighborhoods, which seem like a step back into 19th-century Eastern Europe, many Hassidic Jews either broke with tradition and voted for a secular candidate or left the mayoral ballot blank. Police say several brawls broke out between Porush supporters and jeering Hassidic youths...
...Most Israeli newspapers today touted Barkat as the savior of secular Jerusalem. The city's outgoing mayor is also ultra-orthodox, and many non-religious Jerusalemites chafed at the growing number of restrictions imposed on Sabbath activities. During campaigning, Porush said little about how he would sanctify Jerusalem, but many Israelis envisioned the city becoming a ghost town on the Sabbath, with all restaurants shut and cars banned from many neighborhoods. They also feared that Porush would have pushed for the segregation of men and women on buses and in municipal offices. Shalom Yerushalmi, a columnist for the daily Maariv...