Farewell to Jerusalem’s Giant : Determined, irascible Teddy Kollek loses after 28 years as mayor

Voters in Jerusalem have brought to an unhappy end the remarkable civic career of Teddy Kollek, mayor of Israel’s capital for 28 years and one of the giants of his country’s political life.

Prodded by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin into seeking reelection when he would have preferred the tranquillity of retirement, Kollek lost decisively to Ehud Olmert, a stalwart of the conservative Likud Party. Rabin chose to define the election as a test of his peace policy toward Palestinians. Post-election, Likud hard-liners were eager to echo that assessment. But this overriding national issue does not seem to have been determinative. An uncharacteristically low voter turnout--only about 35% of those eligible went to the polls--and a self-wounding boycott by most of the city’s eligible Arab voters worked against Kollek. So did a last-minute deal struck by Olmert with an ultra-religious Jewish political rival. Ultimately, though, it was probably Kollek’s age and questions about his health that were decisive. At 82 the once boundlessly energetic mayor was plainly tired and increasingly less attentive. He had earned a chance to rest.

Kollek was mayor of West Jerusalem when the Six Day War in 1967 led to the reunification of the city that is held to be holy by Jews, Muslims and Christians. He set out immediately to show that peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Arabs was possible and to restore to Jerusalem some of the civic amenities it had not known for centuries. A man of irascible charm and driving determination, Kollek presided over new construction projects and archeological digs and restorations beyond counting. Not all of the development does credit to Jerusalem’s setting or long history. But under Kollek what had been essentially a dull backwater blossomed into an impressive cultural center.

Jerusalem’s political future will loom large in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Jerusalem is Israel’s capital; Palestinians insist it must also somehow be the capital of the state they aspire to. Imaginative ideas on the city’s status are going to be needed. It will be a great loss if the informed and humane views of the extraordinary Teddy Kollek are not part of the discussion.