Translation of the letter Aliza Bloch posted yesterday explaining the recent events: I would like to personally give you an accounting of yesterday’s events. Six weeks ago I was elected as Chairman of the Beit Shemesh branch of the HaBayit Hayehudi party & as their official candidate for Mayor in the upcoming municipal elections. From the start, I committed to uphold the principles of the “Naham Agreement” which called for an opinion poll (“seker”) amongst the candidates in the “Zionist” camp, with the understanding and agreement of all the candidates that the person with the most public support, according to the results of the poll, will lead our “Zionist”community in the upcoming mayoral race in October. Last Sunday, Eli and I agreed to all the final details regarding the Poll, and we signed on them. The poll began this past Wednesday and was scheduled to continue through Thursday. Wednesday evening, in the middle of the survey, the Bayit Hayehudi CEO and his staff met with me. They informed me that they would like to initiate a connection with Eli Cohen before the conclusion of the survey. They suggested that Eli Cohen be declared as Chairman of HaBayit Hayehudi party in Beit Shemesh and their candidate for Mayor and I will take second place on his list. I responded to the Bayit Hayehudi leadership that such a move would be a breach of our agreement which clearly states that the candidate will be determined by an opinion poll, in accordance with the wishes of the public. I asked why they are rushing to join with Eli Cohen after we’ve already begun the process and the opinion poll is almost complete. If I win the loyalty of the respondents, I must lead the Zionist camp and not Eli Cohen. If Eli Cohen beats me in the survey, I will clearly withdraw my candidacy and support him without any compensation or linkage of position for myself. Over the course of the discussion, much to my shock, it became clear that the Bayit Yehudi people had already closed a deal to join forces with Eli Cohen before speaking with me about it. Behind my back, without my knowledge, the Bayit Yehudi people concluded an agreement with Eli Cohen that pushed me and my (elected) candidacy for Mayor of Beit Shemesh out of the race. All of these maneuvers took place while the opinion poll was being conducted. Friends, I wish to clarify and declare: I take no issue with being number 2, 3 or 3000 on a list. I did not join the political arena to satisfy my ego. I joined because I have much skill and experience to contribute to change the political culture in this city. We do not deserve this crooked deal. In an effort to not respond impulsively, I asked for some time to think things over and said I would get back to them in the morning. I realized that the Bayit Hayehudi people feared a loss, and wished to set up a no-lose scenario for themselves (note they just suffered a big loss in the elections for the Chief Rabbinate). It is true that establishing unity in our community behind a single candidate is in our best interest. Yet, we agreed that the survey winner will be the chosen candidate of our public. We never agreed to have national parties close deals on our behalf far from the eyes of the public. Thursday morning I called the CEO of the national Bayit Hayehudi and informed him that I will not accept his plan. I told him that it is unfitting to launch such a move while the public’s opinion poll is in process, since this is fraudulent. I told him that hundreds of people worked day and night for my success and a suddenly drop out during the survey will be a betrayal of their trust in me. Further, I am not prepared to turn my back on my supporters from all the praiseworthy Zionist parties in Beit Shemesh that supported me all along the way. Moreover (I said), if the party is determined to do this, I won’t stand in their way But I won’t collaborate with such a move and will not withdraw my candidacy for Mayor. One hour later there was a release on the internet, according to which I withdrew my candidacy and joined Eli Cohen as his number 2. Clearly none of this was truthful. After I denied the report, another report was released. This time they said I refused to join Eli Cohen because I insisted on being number 1. This too is a blatant lie. In light of the developments, the “Naham Agreement” promoters Tzion Sultan and Natan Shitreet decided to halt the survey because it has no benefit once the city is full of rumors that I withdrew my candidacy. That is how we got to the situation where only half of the planned households were called. This is not a representative sample and so the pollsters are not able to summarize their findings and present them to the public. Allow me please, for just a moment, to address you not as a candidate for political position, but as a regular person. It is true that I knew that the world of politics is corrupt and dirty. Yes, I knew that I am entering a prickly field not one of enjoyable honeysuckle. But even seasoned political ‘wolves’ were shocked by the events of the Bayit Hayehudi this week and those of Eli Cohen. Many people are hard pressed to understand how Naftali Bennett called thousands of people on Wednesday afternoon and asked them to vote for me, and less than 24 hours later he appoints Eli Cohen to head his local party list. Many people cannot comprehend how Eli Cohen, who for a long period of time, ridiculed the support I received from a large national party, in particular Habayit Hayehudi, flip flopped 180 degrees on a moment’s notice, as soon as it was offered to him and joined forces with the Bayit Hayehudi to cancel the opinion poll while it is in full force. Many people are bewildered and cannot fathom how such a deceptive and fraudulent act can touted in the name of “unity”. To tell you the truth? I don’t understand it either. I wish to clarify: At no stage did I collaborate with the deal that Eli Cohen and the Bayit Hayehudi made. The only conversation that I conducted with Eli Cohen in the last few days was on Wednesday when I called to wish him good luck in the opinion poll. Furthermore: Eli Cohen approached a well-known personality in town and asked him to persuade me to collaborate with the deal. I refused and the same man passed my response to Eli. Eli Cohen knew that I do not agree to the deal. In total disregard for my rejection and the ongoing survey, he collaborated with them and caused the survey to be stopped mid-way, in a total contradiction to the “Noham Agreement” that we both signed. This is the place to repeat: I did not run for office to reign or achieve a personal glory. I threw my hat in to bring Beit Shemesh in order to bring a cleaner, more honest political culture. That is why I didn’t make any promises and didn’t ask for any ‘deals’ for myself. If I would have accepted the Bayit Hayehudi offer, I could have secured a senior position for myself – albeit I would have betrayed the very values that I set out uphold in this race. The local Likud people and many other good people from other parties supported me and believed in me, and it never dawned on me to make any deal behind their backs (the Likud people, in direct contradistinction to the Bayit Hayehudi people, taught me that one can maintain one’s values even during a political campaign, and for this I offer them and my other supporters my grateful appreciation. Perhaps I brought this upon myself with my insistence on maintaining ethical standards. But honesty and clean hands are as important to me as anything, and I will not compromise them even if I end up paying a heavy price for them. As an educator, I always taught my children and my students to cope with every situation with integrity. I taught them that just as we are pleased with victory, we must also contend with loss or lack of success with dignity and no complaints. If the majority of the public had chosen Eli Cohen in the survey, I would be the first person to acknowledge it and to give him my blessings. The polling was stopped and not by me. The results are only partial and have not been released. If anyone is thinking to use these interim results, s/he is acting in contradiction to most basic rules of good governance. Dr. Mina Tzemach who conducted the survey told me and Natan Shitreet that she will not release the results to a sole until the polling is completed and the data is fully processed. If someone contended that s/he knew the results as the survey was being conducted, s/he is not speaking the truth. The alternative is that the survey was compromised (a thought I do not want to believe). In conclusion, the “Naham Agreement” was broken in a scathing, one-sided act, and the survey is no longer relevant. I repeat that I entered politics for the sake of good governance and therefore I will not collaborate with trickery that is antithetical to the rules of good government. I am taking this weekend to consider the situation that has been created and I will make my decision as to my next steps next week. I would like to thank the thousands of supporters from the bottom of my heart; you believe in me and have worked by my side with limitless devotion. I know that you and the majority of Beit Shemesh residents have been going through a difficult time since yesterday. All I can say is that I identify with you and embrace you. Whatever the next chapter holds, I will continue to do everything in my power for the city of Beit Shemesh and for you, her amazing residents. If it will be possible, I will do so from the Mayorial seat. If not, I will do so with great joy from every other place. I wish us all victory, despite everything. May we su
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 19:32:24 +0000
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