Word: secularize
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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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...
...Winner Barkat, 49, is eager to close the rift between Jerusalem's secular community and the black-hatted religious population, which widened during the fierce campaign. "Victory belongs to all those who love and cherish this special and amazing city of ours, the Jewish people's eternal capital," he said. "It belongs to the Right and the Left, it belongs to the religious and the secular...
...third of Jerusalem's 750,000 population are ultra-Orthodox Jews, another third are a mix of secular and less Orthodox Jews, while the remaining third are East Jerusalem's Arabs. Gaydamak, 56, can forget about winning the ultra-Orthodox vote. It will be delivered in a bloc to Meir Porush, 54, a former Knesset member who has the backing of the city's key rabbis. Says Anat Hoffmann, a former city council member: "When Porush says 'our children,' he doesn't mean Jerusalem's children. He means those of his community. And when he says 'our Jerusalem,' he means...
...look cuddly and friendly. And so, instead of a photo, Porush is represented on posters by a cartoon figure of a smiling rabbi. It does little to warm the hearts of non-haredim, however. Porush recently told his followers, "In another 10 years, there won't be a single secular mayor anywhere except in some rundown village." That is a day that many ordinary Israelis in Tel Aviv and elsewhere would dread. Already, droves of secular Jerusalemites are leaving the city, stifled by its increasing religiosity, and a Porush victory would increase the exodus, his critics...
Gaydamak is setting his sights on Jerusalem's secular and less Orthodox Jews. But the Russian faces competition from Nir Barkat, 49, a software multimillionaire and city councilman. They will end up splitting the secular votes, with Barkat scooping up the larger share. Barkat has swung to the right, promising to build more Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem. Gaydamak thinks his only chance is to make inroads among the city's Arab community...