tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post8269987466710125889..comments2024-03-18T19:59:12.814+02:00Comments on Life in Israel: Elections for mayor of Bet ShemeshRafi G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-88934395113053799022013-01-21T07:05:04.305+02:002013-01-21T07:05:04.305+02:00a. if you know, please tell us. we are at the stag...a. if you know, please tell us. we are at the stage of looking for information<br /><br />b. I resent that you think you have more of a say than anybody else just because you are a vatik. I have been in Bet Shemesh 13 years, there were people in the meeting who have been in Bet Shemesh over 25 years, over 30 years and over 40 years. Nobody has more of a say than anybody else. We are all equal and our votes are all equal. I did not declare his candidacy, and I am not telling you for whom to vote. I said he made a very good first impression on me, and I am open to learning more about him. <br /><br />c. If any one person or group thinks he is going to make the decision on who will run,. he is setting himself up for a big loss. Electing a new mayor is going to take a lot of work by a lot of different people from across the city in coordination with each other. No one group is going to do this by themselves.<br /><br />d. Wolicki was involved in this meting, but Lipman was not. I have no idea what he thinks or whom he will be supporting as the candidate.<br /><br />e. nobody here is doing this for personal gain. I will not personally benefit if Eli Cohen becomes mayor and I will not personally benefit if Moshe Abutbol becomes mayor again. I will also not lose in any personal way if either of them win. And I will not lose out on anything if either of them wins or loses. It is a matter of who any given person thinks can provide the better quality of life by improving our beautiful city. Feel free to float a candidate that you think will do a better job, and if I am convinced of it, I will be happy to support that candidate., Right now all I know of is Moshe Abutbol, Eli Cohen is on the brink of announcing, and Shimon Biton whom I know very little about. If you think I have a personal agenda in promoting eli Cohen you are wrong.Rafi G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-19234298923385514542013-01-21T00:08:35.079+02:002013-01-21T00:08:35.079+02:00did you even asked yourself what eli cohen did for...did you even asked yourself what eli cohen did for biet shemesh since he forced to leave the local politics to be an asistent to a jewish agency politician ? more than 20 years ago? you, the new comers know nothing about the man. we the vatikim knoe exactly what he is made of. we are going to decide who is going to be the candidate and not mr. volitzky or mr. lipmanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-9513072370208470162013-01-20T23:56:49.883+02:002013-01-20T23:56:49.883+02:00please define: live in Bet Shemeshplease define: live in Bet ShemeshAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-78381359263768103222013-01-20T23:45:34.405+02:002013-01-20T23:45:34.405+02:00Parlor meetings etc. along with an extensive campa...Parlor meetings etc. along with an extensive campaign to have native English speakers exposed to his writings and views are in the works. He is waiting until after the the national elections. Local elections are generally a six month affair but do the urgent circumstances the timeframe will be longer this time(starting wednesday)<br />with regards to his place of residence-he is a child of bet shemesh who has lived here for practically his whole life and maintains his law practice here. He is moving back to bet shemesh soon as is required by law(I believe within six months of the election)The main issue of who is most competent to lead us out of this mess should not be clouded with a technicality.We need to focus on who will be best for the city. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-89042809043277781192013-01-20T23:14:18.024+02:002013-01-20T23:14:18.024+02:00anon - as I said, he made a very good first impres...anon - as I said, he made a very good first impression on me (and the others who were present), but I dont know him or his plans well enough at this point to state that I am 100% confident he will make a good mayor. That is why i only ask at this point that people be open to hear his ideas.<br /><br />I do know that he does have a vision, he does have ideas, and he does have plans. He mentioned a little bit of it, and I hope he can accomplish what he is planning to do.<br /><br />Regarding Shimon Biton, I know even less of him. I do know that I hear nothing of him except for the articles I see on Shopping Mekomi, which I dont even get every week. I do know that Biton declared his candidacy maybe 3 months ago, yet I have never seen or heard him say anything outside of his article. Where is he leading a fight against the current mayor or showing the public where his differences are, what he will do, how he will solve problems? I dont know if he is capable or not, but I would expect a serious candidate to make his voice heard very loudly and clearly, and he has not done that. <br /><br />I am told that Biton does not even live in Bet Shemesh. Is that true? While I know that that is technically not a problem, as he can take up residence here, or maybe he never changed his teudat zehut to his new place of residence, but ti does bother me that he doesn't live here. If he wants to throw his lot in with Bet Shemesh, he should be living with us as well.<br /><br />I'd be happy if you told us more about him, some of his vision and plans, maybe arrange parlor meetings so I, and others, can meet him. Nobody is going to support the guy if all he does is write articles in a magazine and do nothing else around town.Rafi G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-49401958732366711892013-01-20T22:56:24.151+02:002013-01-20T22:56:24.151+02:00Rafi,
He may be an experienced adminstrator and c...Rafi,<br /><br />He may be an experienced adminstrator and come across as sincere(so does Abutbul) but his lack of creativity and understanding of how to stop the charedization of the city make him wholly unsuited for the tasks of a)winning the election and b)running such a complex city such as Bet Shemesh. He is certainly a "nice guy" but in my opinion lacks what it takes to uproot the mess of the last few years and present an alternative vision. Shimon Biton is a far,far better option. He might make a good mancal though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-67449264315918743692013-01-20T22:19:36.653+02:002013-01-20T22:19:36.653+02:00I didnt say he will be a good mayor. my first impr...I didnt say he will be a good mayor. my first impression is that I think so, but I still need to see more.<br /><br />Cohen is not dati - he is masorati. he was born in Morocco, and he [was] moved to Israel and Bet Shemesh when he was 1 and a half years old. he is a bet shemesh vatik. he is very polished, very expeirenced. he has been involved in the leadership of large public bodies, such as the position he held as samankal of Mekorot for I think 4 years. There were a number of similar positions he held in other impressive names of comapnies, but I dont remember them offhand.Rafi G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-1499289379591552362013-01-20T21:46:15.799+02:002013-01-20T21:46:15.799+02:00Rafi, can you tell us a bit more about him? He he ...Rafi, can you tell us a bit more about him? He he a beit Shemesh vatik? Dati? Why do you think he will make a good mayor? Shimon Anoreply@blogger.com