Cities in Israel Re-elect Their Mayors; Shragai Expected to Be Mayor of Jerusalem

Oved Ben Ami, a General Zionist, was re-elected today mayor of Nathanya while Meir Melamed, a Histadrut leader, was re-elected mayor of Ramleh, Baruch Ostrovsky, a former Now Yorker, was elected chairman of the local municipal council in Raanana.

The right-wing councillors in the Jerusalem municipal council last night concluded an agreement whereby S. Z. Shragai, Poale Mizrachi leader, will be elected Mayor of the city and Eliahu Eliashar, General Zionist leader, will become Deputy Mayor. The agreement, unlike an earlier one, does not depend upon the outcome of coalition agreements in any other city or town.

At a meeting of the municipal council last night, called by Daniel Auster, the outgoing Mayor, only the 12 right-wing councillors attended. Mr. Auster, who had publicly expressed his indignation last week over the extended negotiations among the right-wing parties, opened and adjourned the meeting in the same sentence. He explained that the adjournment was called because of the “need for further consultations,” the reason given by the right-wingers for requesting adjournments last week and this week-end.

After Mr. Auster walked out of the council room, the councillors remained seated for some time waiting for a further explanation. They only received it when one of their number telephoned Mr. Auster, who informed him that the time and place of the next meeting would be announced “in due course.”

Meanwhile, the Mizrachi Organization today issued an appeal to the Hapoel Hamizrachi and the Poale Agudas Israel urging their support for the candidacy of Moshe Schwalbe, Mizrachi choice for the Mayor of Petach Tikvah. The appeal was issued because both the Herut and the General Zionists have agreed to withdraw their earlier support of the Mapai candidate and back Mr. Schwalbe. If the labor religious groups unite with the right-wing forces it is likely that Mr. Schwalbe will be elected.