Harish's city council opposition has a new look. The Liberals faction announced that council member Yiftach Stein is vacating his seat, with Netanel Shitrit entering the council in his place — the second change in the opposition's ranks within a week, following veteran council member Idit Yantov's retirement from public life and the swearing-in of Tal Levy of Harish Beitenu in her place.
Shitrit, 39, married and a father of three, is a high-tech engineer who has lived in Harish for the past decade. He was among the founders of the "Hadok" club and the community library, and according to the faction is expected to chair the council's audit committee. "I come from a world where you check data, build long-term processes and measure results — that is the approach I intend to bring to city hall," he said, adding that "professional management, transparency, listening and a drive for excellence are not slogans, but a basic condition for a strong city."
Stein, an educator with a master's degree, will remain part of the faction's leadership but says he will focus on educational and community initiatives outside the council. "The decision to vacate the seat came from a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to broaden what we do for residents," he said.
Levy, sworn in at the most recent council session, thanked Yantov for what he described as roughly nine years on the council and an even longer record of public service. He declined to lay out a detailed agenda for now, saying he intends to learn the role first, but stressed a message of lowering the temperature of public discourse: "The 'wars' need to happen here, around this table," he said — not on Facebook and not in the street.
Opposition leader Shani Grinberg welcomed Shitrit's entry, saying the city's national-religious public deserves authentic representation and that "Netanel brings much more than sectoral representation — he brings a path." The reshuffle does not change the balance of power in the council, where the opposition also includes Shlomo Klein of the Beit Tov faction. It comes against the backdrop of the new political map that formed in the city after Yochai Farji's appointment as acting mayor and the assembly of a new coalition.
Source: Harish City — חריש סיטי
