ISRAEL: Openly Gay Knesset Member Announces Bid For Tel Aviv Mayor

Openly gay Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz has announced his intent to run for mayor of Tel Aviv.

Horowitz, a second-term MK and former journalist for Channel 10 News, will be challenging former Labor member Ron Huldai, who has served as Tel Aviv’s mayor since 1998. If he wins, Horowitz (49) would be Tel Aviv’s first openly gay mayor, and the first in any Israeli city. In a press conference at the old city hall building on Monday, Horowitz mentioned rising real-estate prices – which sparked the social protest movement in 2011 – along with the city’s infamous transportation problems among his reasons for running. He also promised to introduce a new plan for the city’s southern neighbourhoods, which have almost doubled their population due to the waves of asylum seekers who were sent there by the government.

Horowitz is the second-ever and only currently serving openly gay member of the 120-seat Knesset. Tel Aviv's election is October 22nd.  Below (in Hebrew) is Horowitz' announcement.