It was almost three o'clock in the morning, last Wednesday,
before it was announced that Rabbi Yitzchok Pindrus won the
elections for mayor of Beitar Illit by a narrow margin of
172 votes.
The central election headquarters of the party headed by
Pindrus were active throughout the day starting from 6:30
a.m. until the polling booths closed, trying to convince
people to vote for the party which had received the support
of the gedolim.
Altogether 5254 people came to cast their vote, which was a
turnout of about 77 percent. 52 percent voted for Pindrus,
45 percent for Gerlitz and 4 percent cast white notes. The
four parties are now divided up in the council as follows:
Pindrus's party, Zedek has 3 seats, Beitar Bitenufa, headed
by Rabbi Meir Rubinstein 3 seats, Zach, headed by Rabbi
Akiva Ovitz 4 seats, and Shas has 3 out of the 13 seats, as
opposed to 3 out of 9 seats in the outgoing council. In
other words, many people who did not vote for Pindrus's
party did cast their vote for him as mayor.
After it became clear that Pindrus had won the elections,
he left his house surrounded by masses of people. It took a
long time for him to reach his car. He was accompanied by
his father, HaRav Moshe Mendel Pindrus, one of the
roshei yeshiva of Or Somayach and originally from
America, and his father-in-law, HaRav Menachem Rottenberg,
mashgiach in Kol Torah.
We were squashed together at the back of the car. Pindrus
announced that he would go straight to the house of the
moro de'asra, Rav Y. Toufik, to thank him for his
support all along the way, including on election day
itself. The moro de'asra has for a long time not made
a secret of his opinions about certain topics connected to
the running of the local council and he was therefore
determined to help bring about Pindrus's victory in the
elections.
After the visit to the moro de'asra the masses of
activists and supporters returned to the Darkei Simchah
shul, near Pindrus's house, where the mayor, his new
deputy and MK Rabbi Ravitz gave speeches thanking Hashem
for this great achievement. They also expressed their
gratitude to the many activists for their hard work.
"Tonight it has been proved beyond all doubt that the
residents of Beitar wanted a change; a fundamental change.
Victory tonight does not belong to me or to members, old
and new, of the local council, it belongs to the residents
of our town Beitar Illit," said Rabbi Pindrus.
He also thanked the outgoing mayor, Rabbi Yehuda Gerlitz,
for all the cooperation over the last six years during
which he acted as mayor. "You can only run a town with
deeds, not with words. My heart is filled with a prayer to
the Creator that he will make us succeed, and that in six
years' time we will not recognize the town, we shall change
its very foundations, with the help of Hashem."
Rabbi Pindrus asked the many activists present not to
expect a victory party, since it was "not fitting to have
festivities during this time when we are mourning the
passing of HaRav Shach ztv"l and when the Ben Yishai
family is mourning the murder of their daughter, Shoshana
Hy"d. A victory rally will be held in my office over
the next six years. My colleagues and I will hold a `party'
for all the residents every day by lending a listening ear
and helping each and every one of you."
At the end of his speech he thanked the gedolim and
the rabbonim of the town who had encouraged him to stand
for mayor, MK Ravitz who had encouraged him to submit his
candidacy, MKs Gafni and Porush, the head of Beitar
Bitenufa faction, Meir Rubinstein and others.
MK Ravitz, despite the very late hour was visibly excited.
He said that throughout the day he had prepared two
speeches, one in case of victory and one in case of defeat,
and that eventually after Pindrus was elected he decided to
combine the two. He recalled the various discussions that
had taken place and the decision that was taken to stand
for mayor. He pointed out that due to the political
situation between the various political blocs in the town
victory was not certain. "I claimed there was a reasonable
chance that Rav Pindrus would win and that if not, it would
be no disaster either. You are allowed to lose sometimes.
We went to see Rav Eliashiv shlita and he ruled that
we should run in the elections."
The head of the Beitar Bitenufa party, Meir Rubinstein, who
had been informed by Pindrus in the course of this
gathering that he would be appointed deputy mayor, cited
quotations from chassidus about the mission of a
public figure and thanked the dedicated activists at
length.
At 5:00 a.m., one hour before netz the large crowd
started to disperse. Some went to have a short rest, others
started preparations for vosikin.
That evening he went to visit Rav Eliashiv together with
other Zedek candidates and members of the local council to
receive a brocho for his next six years as mayor of
the Torah town in the Judean mountains, Beitar Illit.
Messenger Of The Rabbonim
Yitzchok Zeev Pindrus has been a well-known personality in
Beitar Illit for many years. He first became known in the
public arena in 5749 (1989) when he taught Russian
immigrants in the Ohel Avrohom outreach institution.
Starting from 5754 (1994) he was the director of a Torah
institute in Yerushalayim and in this capacity he acquired
a lot of experience in municipal affairs.
When Beitar Illit was first settled, Pindrus set up a
general charity fund, and when HaRav Dovid Zvi Ordentlich
and HaRav Yaakov Toufik were appointed rabbonim of the town
he handed over the administration of the fund to them, with
him serving as the executive branch. He has remained active
in this area.
Between 5756 (1996) and 5759 (1999) he was Deputy Adviser
to the Head of Beitar Local Council, Moshe Leibovitch. In
5756 (1996) he was elected to the local council as a
representative of the bnei Torah in the town, and
since then he served as deputy mayor, heading the cultural,
social and youth divisions and serving as Chairman of the
Supports' Committee.
During his years at the municipality he was involved in a
wide variety of areas, such as defense, religious affairs,
assistance in obtaining land for various institutions and
obtaining building permits for private people and for
institutions. He always had an open door policy, combining
his natural initiative and drive with a long-term vision of
the future.
Over the last few months, he started considering the
possibility of running for mayor, and as soon as the
decision was taken he acquired the support of Degel Hatorah
voters as well as other groups in the town such as Yeshiva
Hamasmidim who were the first to announce their support. We
spoke to him last week a day after he was elected. He
sounded tired but happy. He had succeeded in his mission,
following the rulings and encouragement of the
gedolim.
How does it feel to be elected mayor of the Torah town
in the Judean hills?
"I feel that I have a mission. I hope that I will not
disappoint my voters and that I will have the siyata
diShmayo to see through all the many plans I have in
store for the town for the benefit of the residents, the
institutions and all of us."
What do you intend doing in the town that has not been
done already?
"I intend in the very near future to set up additional
botei din, botei horo'oh, and more kollelim and
Torah institutions for the whole town. I also intend to
expand the existing Torah institutions, and at the same
time develop the industrial area for the benefit of the
whole population."
Does the composition of the local council allow you to
set up a wide coalition?
"I very much hope so".
You are the youngest mayor in Israel. Is this fact
likely to affect how government offices will treat you,
either positively or negatively?
"There should be no reason for that. I have excellent
connections with government offices. During the eleven
years in which I have been involved in public activities I
have made many connections, and I will continue to develop
them."
Not all the factions and communities in the town
supported your candidacy. Will this change your attitude to
the population as a whole?
"Most certainly not. Whatever happened until yesterday, the
day of the elections is behind us. Political support of a
certain party before election time must not be allowed to
have an impact on the way a city is run or to affect a
mayor's attitude to all the residents, heads of
institutions and the needs of the town. It was therefore
only natural that this morning I should receive good wishes
and congratulations from all the leaders in the town, and
only natural that I should relate to each of them as if
they had supported me in the elections. Elections are a
political matter, but public activity has to be undertaken
for the benefit of the klal, without any distinction
between different groups and communities. I will run the
municipality exactly as is to be expected from the mayor of
the chareidi town of Beitar Illit."
