Moshe Leon won the election for Jerusalem's next mayor on Nov. 13. The next day, Leon’s key sponsor, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, resigned his office. The back-to-back events were no coincidence. The new mayor, by his own admission, is “in the pocket” of his “boss” Liberman, as he terms his long-time political benefactor. In recordings from 2014 obtained by Haaretz, Leon is heard saying that Liberman takes his support for granted. Undoubtedly, the hawkish head of Yisrael Beitenu will turn the holy city into his political bedrock ahead of the elections to the 21st Knesset, which may be moved up to early 2019 due to the shrinking of the government coalition following Liberman’s resignation. Still, he will be obliged to share it with Leon’s other sponsor, ultra-Orthodox Shas chair Aryeh Deri.
The Likud's battle cry — grab as many right-wing voters as you can — burst forth even before the victory celebrations by Leon and his sponsors died down. On Nov. 15, the Likud faction in the Knesset set out to fast-track a new law enabling construction in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem’s Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, at the foot of the Temple Mount. Spearheading the project is the non-profit organization Elad, the darling of the political right and its wealthy American backers.
