San Diego, CA (special) --Eliyahu Barda was known in his community of Migdal Haemek for achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces, with responsibility for the disposition of troops on Israel's borders. Residents were proud of the career he had made after serving as an enlisted man in the parachutists, then entering an officer's training course. 

What no one expected him to ever do was to go into politics, Barda said. After retiring from the Army in 1998 with 20 years service, he had intended to study for a doctorate in political science or perhaps go into business. But then Shaul Amor, the long-time mayor of Migdal Haemek, Knesset member and unsuccessful opponent of Ezer Weizmann for the presidency of Israel, announced he would seek to have his wife succeed him as mayor. 

Barda said he considered this to be nepotism as well as a way for Amor to try to continue controlling Migdal Haemek from behind the scenes. As Barda felt that the city of 35,000 had been neglected because of Amor's preoccupation with national affairs, he decided to oppose the creation of an Amor family dynasty.   "I searched for someone who I could really respect and really aid, someone who would be mayor, but no one wanted the job," Barda said during a July 17-21 visit to San Diego . "They all feared the mayor and the power and the connections he had."  As a military man, "I took the initiative, the responsibility, and decided to contend," Barda said. "It was a short period of time for a campaign, but I worked on this as one would a military campaign."

Mayor Eliyahu Barda

He campaigned under the political banner of Gesher, the party of current Foreign Minister David Levy. In Hebrew "Gesher" means "bridge." Barda explained that he favors bridging the diffrences between "rich and poor, religious and non-religious, left and right, Ashkenazic and Sephardic." 

Now that he is elected, he said, he is focusing on "formal and informal education" as well as refurbishing negelected infrastructure. "This year, we are actually putting the brakes on deterioration and we are creating a multi-year work program for development of the city." 

Barda said that Migdah Haemek--which means "Tower of the Valley" -- is known both for its beautiful scenery and for a range of high tech companies that manufacture there. The city's symbol pictures an olive branch, a house, ploughed fields and a wheel. The branch signifies the many olive trees in the area; the house built into the side of a mountain depicts the city's location in the mountains near Nazareth. The fields represent agriculture of the Jezreel Valley. The wheel is symbolic of the city' industry and technology. 

Prior to Israel's Independence War, an Arab village known as Mogidal was located where Migdal Haemek now stands. According to Barda, the city was the site of fierce fighting between the Haganah and Shahab fighters trained by Jordan's Arab Legion. As Israeli forces approached, Arab citizens set fire to their village and fled, Barda said. Israelis built a city there anew. 

Today, according to Barda, there are good relations between the Jewish residents of his city and the Arabs who live in nearby villages. "There is good neighborly commerce and meetings between the mayors," he said.