voa标准英语2008年-City Elections Highlight Battle Between Secular

Israelis are casting ballots² in municipal polls. In Jerusalem, the mayoral race has highlighted a battle between secular³ Jews and the Orthodox who are gaining influence over the Holy City. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's landscape has been changing in recent years, with more Orthodox Jewish families moving into neighborhoods in both traditionally Jewish West Jerusalem and in settlements in Arab East Jerusalem.

For the past five years, the city has been run by an ultra-orthodox mayor Uri Lupolianski who has sought to expand the influence of conservative, observant Jews who favor giving fewer concessions⁴ to Palestinians.
　

An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man casts his ballot1 at a poling station in Jerusalem, 11 Nov 2008

Jerusalem is home to about 750,000 people, roughly a third of them Arabs. Thousands of Arabs are allowed to vote in these elections, but few say they want to do so.

Jerusalem's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Mohammad Husein, issued a call ordering Palestinian Muslims to stay away from the polls. He tells VOA that to vote is to validate⁵ Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem.

He says his fatwa is based on the belief that no Muslim should accept or assist a non-Muslim occupier. The cleric says Palestinian Muslims can never recognize the sovereignty of a non-Muslim occupier.

But a few Arabs defied the order and went to the polls. This man in East Jerusalem who asked not to be identified says this is his first time voting. He says violence has failed to resolve the everyday issues facing Arab families.

"We need for my street to be cleaned. We do not have any of those things for a long time. Because, I need to be safe. I need to be happy in my home," he said. "I am not a visitor. I live here and I want change."

The candidate who has been most visibly courting Arab voters is Arkady Gaydamak, a wealthy, Russian-born, and controversial billionaire who faces trial in a French court over the smuggling⁶ of weapons to Angola in the 1990s during its civil war. He says he would push for better city services and granting more building permits for Jerusalem's Arab residents. At the same time, he tells VOA he supports the agenda of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

"They are the keepers of our Jewish traditions and today, unfortunately, a big part of the Jewish people are very far from our traditions," he said. "And that is why we should do everything to provide unconditional⁷ support to the ultra-Orthodox community."

Representing many ultra-Orthodox Jews is Rabbi Meir Porush and his religion-based Agudat Israel party. Another top candidate is wealthy businessman Nir Barkat, also a rightist, but one who favors secular policies and wants to attract more young people and investment to the city.

The main candidates oppose efforts to stop the expansion of Jewish settlements in Arab East Jerusalem, which Arabs want as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

4 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

5 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。