Municipal Elections in the Holy City: Campaigns, Results, and Coalition Building in Jerusalem, 1948–1973

The article deals with the municipal elections in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Section One, “The early years,” focuses on Daniel Auster’s term as acting mayor, 1948–49; Section Two covers “The chaotic period, 1950–55” and the successive mayoral terms of Shlomo Zalman Shragai and Yitzhak Kariv, whose ineffective administrations of the city led the government to disbanded the Municipal Council in 1955; Section Three, “The stable period, 1955–65,” discusses the terms of two mayors, Gershon Agron and Mordechai Ish-Shalom, both members of the Labor Party, Mapai, under whom Jerusalem underwent considerable development with the relocation of Hadassah Hospital to the western part of the city, and the establishment of the Israel Museum in 1965; Section Four, “The Teddy Kollek years, 1965–73” concerns Kollek’s election as mayor in November 1965 and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.