Last month, Minister Ofir Akunis’s neighbor was recorded yelling at him that there was no room for him in their pluralistic neighborhood, turning oxymoronic speech into a work of art. On Monday morning, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai did one better. The mayor renamed Azrieli junctions, the site of months of anti-judicial reform rallies at the corner of Kaplan Street and Ayalon Highway, “Democracy Square.” Except that Huldai approved the move through an expedited procedure in a municipal committee, without consulting with or even informing the members of the municipal council.
“It’s a proper act that was done improperly,” one city council member told Haaretz, “Certainly when the name includes the word ‘democracy.'”
The protocol for name changes in Israeli municipalities, since the changes impact public spaces, is by convening a names committee, which is usually attended by council members and the mayor, who serves as its chairman. Only after a debate in the committee, is a recommendation submitted to the city council for approval.
However, in 2016, Huldai ordered the establishment of an alternative committee, consisting of only three members, chosen by the mayor, for quick name changes without any debate. In Tel Aviv, you see, some are democratic and others are even more democratic.
And so, the name “Democracy Square” was approved without an official meeting of the alternative names committee, with committee members voting instead by phone or email. And after the new name was recommended, no one saw fit to inform the city council, which is the representative of the voters in Tel Aviv.
According to the municipality, in this case, no approval from the city council was required since, according to protocol, there’s no need for a debate.
After all, what’s the worst that was done? The most electrically charged spot in all of Israel was given a name that might be considered controversial by more than half the citizens.
Recent reports have suggested that the intense criticism leveled at the mayor over the incessant light rail works, the cost of living, parking, the list goes on, well, that criticism has subsided since Huldai has stepped forward in support of the anti-judicial reform protests, which included calling for an outright civil war.
He won’t be the first politician to go to war to boost his ratings.
