Local Politics and Knesset Election Results
The Mayor of the city, Moshe Abutbul, is a member of Shas, the deputy-mayor Shmuel Greenberg of United Torah Judaism (UTJ). Haaretz quotes Abutbul as saying: "Beit Shemesh is not a Haredi city and will not be one." In the 2009 elections, Shas and UTJ won nine seats in the 21-seat municipal council, one seat went to a new Haredi party called Tov.
Formerly a Likud stronghold, in the 2006 Knesset elections United Torah Judaism became the city's strongest party, with 22.2 percent of the votes and Shas getting 19.9 percent. In 2009 Likud regained its primacy, obtaining 22.2 percent of the votes, and Shas also gained, garnering 20.9 percent, with United Torah Judaism a close third at 20.6 percent. Eda Haredit boycott the elections.
The Chief Rabbi of Beit Shemesh is Shimon Bitton.
Read more about this topic: Beit Shemesh
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