“I know that the prime minister is under pressure from many different directions, including from Avigdor Liberman and others,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat when I ask whether he was disappointed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed him for mayor as the city heads toward municipal elections on Oct.  22.

Barkat, formerly a member of the Kadima Party, supported Netanyahu in the last election, and the two share a positive relationship based on mutual respect. In the last few weeks, however, the Jerusalem mayoral campaign took a surprising turn, with Knesset member Avigdor Liberman, a former foreign minister and second in line in Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu, deciding to back his associate Moshe Leon for the office.

Leon, Netanyahu’s chief of staff during his first term as prime minister, is an accountant and is considered a politico. Until recently, he served as chairman of the Jerusalem Development Authority. Liberman, after deciding to put his political weight and prestige behind Leon, who actually lives in Givatayim [in suburban Tel Aviv], is behind the scenes employing the help of his good friend Aryeh Deri, chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, who is supposed to bring out the ultra-Orthodox vote for Leon and thus conquer Jerusalem.

Although Leon is the Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu candidate for mayor, Netanyahu has not endorsed him, for the moment maintaining a deafening silence that only increases the tension between Netanyahu and Liberman.