Nir Barkat - The Likud’s new acquisition and his message to U.S. Jews

Ahead of the April 9 election, there were many parties that brought in new talent and gave these candidates reserved slots on their lists. But former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat was the only one who had never been an MK and won a high slot in a party primary. He was ninth on the Likud list but is expected to be moved down a couple slots for the September 17 race, due to new acquisitions.

If the Likud forms the next government, Barkat is expected to become a minister. Though his portfolio remains unknown and his success as a hi-tech entrepreneur appears to have him earmarked for an economic ministry, Barkat, who was Jerusalem mayor for a decade, is seen as one of the few potential ministers who are knowledgeable about Diaspora affairs.

He has already been given an office in the Knesset that is reserved for ministers. In an interview in that office ahead of his appearance at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York Sunday, Barkat tried to explain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies to American Jewry.

Jerusalem is a model. It’s not controversial that the city belongs to everyone: from Jews and non-Jews and secular to ultra-Orthodox, and everyone in between. Managing the city for a decade, there were always conflicts. Conflicts were not a bug but a feature. That is the nature of living in a city that belongs to all. Everyone must remember that we live in a place where no one gets everything they want. That’s why the words “status quo” are so important. It means there are issues we will never agree on, and we make compromises for living together under one roof.

I am a strong believer in the status quo. I can help ease conflicts by zooming in on the meaning of the status quo. If we do, we can zoom in on any conflict we want, and I’ll tell you how to manage it.

One issue that is up in the air is the Kotel. As mayor, I saw the mismanagement of expectations. There is still work to do. The government passed a solution that it thought was supported by all sides that fell apart due to public opinion in the haredi and religious-Zionist side.

I think we will end up with something similar to that solution, because you have the religious and Supreme Court pushing in opposite directions. You will end up with a solution in which both sides are unhappy and which both sides have to live with, because those are the fundamentals to living in conflict. Both sides have more to lose for not accepting legal compromise. It’s complicated, but we will have to put this behind us. The religious and Reform are both right from where they’re coming from. Don’t explain why both sides are wrong. If there is no third element to the Kotel, the Supreme Court could change the status quo in the women’s section. There is no good solution, and in those situations, you have to live with compromise.

The Diaspora is waiting for Netanyahu to complete this delicate issue. The current Kotel should not be changed. We have to come to some kind of solution on the third section similar to what it is now. In Jerusalem, we residents get along. The problem is with the Diaspora and its expectations. No Jerusalemites complained to the mayor. I only heard about it in the international news.

What did you think about the Pew Research Center study that found that 64% of Americans have a favorable view of Israelis but 51% don’t like our government?

If you ask them about the American government, the responses are probably the same. They dislike both our government and their government.

The political ideologies of [former president Barack] Obama and Netanyahu were practically impossible to bridge. It was too wide a chasm to cross. That made the relationship tense. It wasn’t just personal, it was ideological. That was a big burden.

To credit President Obama, it didn’t affect support and military ties between Israel and the US. That could have happened. The status quo was kept on economy and military ties, when other things were tense.

I had a tough time dealing with Obama’s policies, as mayor of Jerusalem. Then we went from the “front wind” from Obama to wind at our backs from Trump. The ideology of Trump and his team is aligned with Netanyahu, as are their personal relations. That makes things move faster. Interests align when vectors go in the same direction. It’s unfortunate that this is the reality at a time of unfortunate polarization.

I’ve been doing research, creating master plans for what to do as a minister from what I learned as an entrepreneur and mayor of Jerusalem. I hosted a conference on June 5 for economic plans for developing the North, South, and Judea and Samaria with Prof. Michael Porter from Harvard University. Our findings are quite dramatic.

I did this research because I care about my country. Thirty years from now, we will grow from nine to 17 million. If we do nothing, the population will overcrowd the Center, and it will be a strategic problem for the Center.

My goal is to work on elements. The first is economic, making these four regions attractive for families and entrepreneurs. Second: Differential funding for local governments to expand services and compete with the Center. Third: Communal life – groups of communities who want to live together. Fourth: Infrastructure and planning – how to scale cities, towns and moshavim to make them much bigger. All this is high on my agenda.