**3. The local entrepreneurial leader**

low socio-economic status.<sup>2</sup>

64 Leadership

municipalities.4

2

3

4

town, see below Section 5.1.

with appointed high officials.

using common leadership models.

the settlements that under consideration appeared in clusters 3–4.

Netivot, Ofakim, Ramle, Yavne, and Yeruham.3

reduced the socio-economic potential of those towns.

In broad terms, historically, these towns were labeled 'develop-

In most cases, these new towns were located

ment towns' (Heb., *arei pitu'ah*). Shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Israeli government and national planning authorities prepared to accommodate the large influx of Jewish immigrants, many from Arab states. To this end, during the 1950s and early 1960s, the Israeli authorities founded and built about 35 'new towns' in the frontier areas of the new state. These included the following towns (some of which later became large cities): Ashdod, Be'er-Sheva (Beersheba), Beit-She'an, Kiryat-Shemona, Lod (Lyda), Migdal ha-Emek,

at a distance from the big metropolitan areas of Israel (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv). As such, they were disadvantaged and suffered from the significantly poor conditions that were typical of peripheral areas, such as: an employment base that rested on traditional and low-tech industries (e.g., food, textiles and mining industries); a high rate of unemployment; low income levels; high levels of socioeconomic instability; low quality public services; and a narrow tax base. In addition, for many years, these towns also suffered from a selective and negative pattern of emigration (the better-educated young people would leave to find work in larger and more affluent urban areas), a phenomenon commonly known as 'brain drain', that further

As for the sociological and ethnic aspects, the vast majority of the people who now live in those towns are the second and third generations of new immigrant parents from Muslim countries; many accustomed to traditional-hierarchical interactions with the broader political environment [14]. Since the early 1990s, in the greater national political arena, Israeli society has undergone a sharp move towards a neo-liberalized and globalized social order [15]—a dynamic that widened the socioeconomic and spatial gaps between rich and poor areas in Israel. In addition, since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Israeli municipalities have come under more scrutiny and have been subjected to tighter regulation by the Israeli Treasury and the Ministry of the Interior, particularly the poorest and lowest ranking

Based on humanistic-interpretational approach mentioned above, the goal of the following analysis is to address the question: How do leaders in those disadvantaged towns cope with and transcend their demeaning conditions? The following analysis and discussion address this question by identifying, conceptualizing, and classifying various types of local leaders

The empirical analysis consists of three sections. The first section focuses on the personality and strategies of the Mayor of Yavne-Meir Sheetrit (1974–1992), describing his mayoral

According Israeli official statistic, each among all Israeli cities, towns and settlements categorized in one of 10 statistical clusters; each cluster represent a certain level of socioeconomic conditions. Settlements who appears in cluster 1 represent the lowest level of municipalities cluster 10 represent the highest level of urban standards. In the research period,

Up until 1948 Lod and Ramle were homogenous Arab cities. During the Israeli War of Independence (May 1948), these cities were evacuated and a short while later rebuilt as new town. Along the years they become ethno-nationally mix

Further, in many case the Israeli ministry of interior affairs intervene in the local municipal affaires of these municipalities, expropriating their powers and limiting local autonomy, as in some case reached to firing mayors replacing them Any city or town has a set of objective attributes—geographical, sociological or political that provide its relative advantage or, to use Michael Porter's term, its 'competitive advantage'. In general, this concept refers to the notion that the "endowments of inputs, such as labor, natural resources and financial capital […] enable the nation [or city] to productively *use* and *upgrade* its input" [16]. In an urban context, such input may be either 'fixed' (e.g., climate, or landscape, or the distance to a big metropolitan area) or 'dynamic', such as changes in state tax-benefit policies, or in commuter habits, or in housing and residential preferences. A crucial point regarding local leadership is that 'competitive advantage' cannot be always regarded as an explicit objective entity, but rather as something that *should be identified* or even invented (i.e., something bound to subjectivity). Successful leaders are those who are better at identify or inventing such advantages and utilizing them wisely on behalf of the city residents. The following discussion demonstrates this guiding principle by reference to Meir Sheetrit, the Mayor of Yavne (1974–1992) ([14], pp. 106–107; [17]).

#### **3.1. Political, geographic and economic contexts**

Meir Sheetrit was a young vibrant activist when first elected to be the Mayor of Yavne in 1974—a small Israeli town located at the southern border of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Yavne was established by Jewish immigrants from Morocco in the mid-1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s, Yavne ranked as one of the poorest municipalities in Israel, suffering from inadequate or lacking infrastructures and services, stigmatized and characterized by a high rate of social-welfare problems.

#### **3.2. The mayor as an innovator of 'competitive advantage'**

A short while after being elected, Sheetrit formulated a vision for Yavne as an attractive place that can provide 'equal opportunity housing' for local and non-local Israelis ready to live in Yavne. He emphasized that, although Yavne was not within the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, it was, in fact, adjacent to it. Thus, Sheetrit claimed that Yavne has the potential to become an attractive suburb for middle- and upper-middle class populations. However, in order to attain that goal, Yavne would first have to gain a competitive advantage—something that would convince members of the middle class this Yavne is worthy.In the late 1970s, Sheetrit realized that many Israelis had changed their life styles and preferences in regard to housing, seeking for more privacy, wanting to live in private home with large yards. Acting on his intuition, Sheetrit prepared a strategic plan and took steps to make Yavne an attractive place particularly for middle-class emigrants from nearby (people who could not afford to live in Tel Aviv proper due to the very high cost of housing there). By doing so, he thought, Yavne would gain an advantage, one that would later spread and eventually benefit the older lower-class residents of Yavne. Unlike Yavne's former mayors, who had been passive and acted reactively, Sheetrit was proactive and determined to implement his municipal vision and strategy. In doing so, he initially rejected the existing official city plan (originally designed for building a new neighborhood of high-rise residential buildings), profoundly changing the urban master plan and essentially replacing it with a new design. Sheetrit's alternative master plan focused on the construction of a large new neighborhood, one suited to the current middleclass, ground-floor housing orientation and living standard.

reject this initiative since the Israeli law allow mayors to enforce integration in the school

Mayor Sheetrit's second attempt to block an unacceptable initiative, instigated for the purpose of avoiding integration, occurred later on, when some of the new residents wanted to open a sports club ('the water park') near their neighborhood; they established it as a nonprofit association in which the owners (i.e., shareholders) of the potentially exclusive club were all residents of the affluent neighborhood. Mayor Sheetrit was once again concerned that this might encourage a pattern of segregation between new and old residents. However, being a pragmatic and creative leader, he did not reject this initiative outright, but insisted on establishing some prerequisite ownership criteria that would open the water park to other members. Sheetrit wanted to promote the circulation of social capital and to reshape the local social system, making it more inclusive and integrative. As such, his main precondition was that at least one third of the club's shareholders come from outside the affluent neighborhood. This obliged the founders to appeal to residents of the old neighborhoods and to convince

By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Yavne had become much stronger, much less stigmatized, and much more integrated. The high school now includes children from all the social classes and socioeconomic levels. The local partisan-politics system is not strictly divided according to ethnic or class lines. The aforementioned sports club became an inclusive, rather exclusive, place and is not identified the upper-middle class. Since the 1990s (and more intensely since 2010), Yavne has raised its status and is currently considered a strong suburban magnet that attracts young couples from broader areas surrounding the Tel Aviv metropolis. Indeed, such improvements were also caused by other sources and mechanisms (steps taken by the three mayors who followed Sheetrit). Nonetheless, taking a broad perspective, the strategic steps made by Mayor Sheetrit during the 1980s caused a positive, fundamental shift, substantially altering the urban socio-cultural dynamics in Yavne. Not only

According to the Israeli "Mandatory Education Law of 1949," while the municipalities were the official zoning authori-

ties, school children were only to be registered in the schools within their own residential zones.

interests of both communities, while avoiding the conflict of interest.

them to accept partial ownership of the club.

. However, he did not utilized this option. Instead, to overcome the middle-class resistance and to avoid bitterness, Sheetrit adopted a pragmatic approach, suggesting the new residents a deal. Unlike conventional thinking, in which politicians presume the logic of a 'zero sum game' when negotiating with outgroups, Sheetrit negotiated using a 'win-win' strategy. Working together with professional educators and experts, he adopted an educational model in which the curriculum and teaching process in the new school was not fixed, but rather highly flexible. The new school incorporated the 'individual teaching method'—a novel and, as yet, unfamiliar model in those days. In practical terms, this meant that the children of the relatively affluent families would not have to suffer at lower educational levels but would rather be encouraged to advance at their own speed, in accordance with their personal abilities. Meanwhile, the relatively disadvantaged children would not be harmed, still getting the necessary time and attention from their teachers. This enabled Sheetrit's goal to be met, as children from different social classes socialized in integrated classrooms with their classmates. By applying this model, Sheetrit and the educational staff succeeded in advancing the

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system<sup>5</sup>

5

Then, he made an advertising campaign promoting this new Yavne neighborhood targeting middle-class Israelis in the vicinity. Furthermore, knowing that there was a large Israel Defense Force military base not far from Yavne, inhabited by I.D.F. officers fitting the sociological profile of the Israeli middle class, Mayor Sheetrit initiated promotional meetings with those career officers, convincing them to buy homes in this neighborhood and to emigrate to Yavne; he succeeded in this mission. By the mid-1980s, a new upper-middle-class neighborhood had been built, bought and was inhabited in the western section of Yavne, consisting of about 1000 spacious, private homes, each with a large courtyard.

#### **3.3. Overcoming challenging class conflicts**

The next stage towards realizing Sheetrit's vision was the most crucial and difficult one. Sheetrit sought to utilize the socioeconomic advantages embodied by this group of I.D.F. personnel to benefit the entire population of Yavne. To that end, his general policy was to initiate or enable projects designed to integrate these new residents with the relatively-disadvantaged veteran residents of Yavne. This posed a complicated challenge, putting Sheetrit at a political crossroads. Seen from the perspective of socioeconomic classes, the natural tendency of members of the upper-middle class is to protect the use and exchange values of their properties, often by practicing self-segregation (such as by building sophisticated boundaries, both concrete and abstract, designed to discourage social integration). At first, this was the case in Yavne. For example, in the mid-1980s, young parents in the new neighborhood, established a new elementary public school, built especially to serve their own children and, thus, to avoid integration. As mayor, Sheetrit objected to their initiative, determined to create an integrative educational and sociological system, first and foremost, as a means to allow the disadvantaged children a chance to increase their social mobility. Officially, Sheetrit could reject this initiative since the Israeli law allow mayors to enforce integration in the school system<sup>5</sup> . However, he did not utilized this option. Instead, to overcome the middle-class resistance and to avoid bitterness, Sheetrit adopted a pragmatic approach, suggesting the new residents a deal. Unlike conventional thinking, in which politicians presume the logic of a 'zero sum game' when negotiating with outgroups, Sheetrit negotiated using a 'win-win' strategy. Working together with professional educators and experts, he adopted an educational model in which the curriculum and teaching process in the new school was not fixed, but rather highly flexible. The new school incorporated the 'individual teaching method'—a novel and, as yet, unfamiliar model in those days. In practical terms, this meant that the children of the relatively affluent families would not have to suffer at lower educational levels but would rather be encouraged to advance at their own speed, in accordance with their personal abilities. Meanwhile, the relatively disadvantaged children would not be harmed, still getting the necessary time and attention from their teachers. This enabled Sheetrit's goal to be met, as children from different social classes socialized in integrated classrooms with their classmates. By applying this model, Sheetrit and the educational staff succeeded in advancing the interests of both communities, while avoiding the conflict of interest.

Yavne. He emphasized that, although Yavne was not within the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, it was, in fact, adjacent to it. Thus, Sheetrit claimed that Yavne has the potential to become an attractive suburb for middle- and upper-middle class populations. However, in order to attain that goal, Yavne would first have to gain a competitive advantage—something that would convince members of the middle class this Yavne is worthy.In the late 1970s, Sheetrit realized that many Israelis had changed their life styles and preferences in regard to housing, seeking for more privacy, wanting to live in private home with large yards. Acting on his intuition, Sheetrit prepared a strategic plan and took steps to make Yavne an attractive place particularly for middle-class emigrants from nearby (people who could not afford to live in Tel Aviv proper due to the very high cost of housing there). By doing so, he thought, Yavne would gain an advantage, one that would later spread and eventually benefit the older lower-class residents of Yavne. Unlike Yavne's former mayors, who had been passive and acted reactively, Sheetrit was proactive and determined to implement his municipal vision and strategy. In doing so, he initially rejected the existing official city plan (originally designed for building a new neighborhood of high-rise residential buildings), profoundly changing the urban master plan and essentially replacing it with a new design. Sheetrit's alternative master plan focused on the construction of a large new neighborhood, one suited to the current middle-

Then, he made an advertising campaign promoting this new Yavne neighborhood targeting middle-class Israelis in the vicinity. Furthermore, knowing that there was a large Israel Defense Force military base not far from Yavne, inhabited by I.D.F. officers fitting the sociological profile of the Israeli middle class, Mayor Sheetrit initiated promotional meetings with those career officers, convincing them to buy homes in this neighborhood and to emigrate to Yavne; he succeeded in this mission. By the mid-1980s, a new upper-middle-class neighborhood had been built, bought and was inhabited in the western section of Yavne, consisting of

The next stage towards realizing Sheetrit's vision was the most crucial and difficult one. Sheetrit sought to utilize the socioeconomic advantages embodied by this group of I.D.F. personnel to benefit the entire population of Yavne. To that end, his general policy was to initiate or enable projects designed to integrate these new residents with the relatively-disadvantaged veteran residents of Yavne. This posed a complicated challenge, putting Sheetrit at a political crossroads. Seen from the perspective of socioeconomic classes, the natural tendency of members of the upper-middle class is to protect the use and exchange values of their properties, often by practicing self-segregation (such as by building sophisticated boundaries, both concrete and abstract, designed to discourage social integration). At first, this was the case in Yavne. For example, in the mid-1980s, young parents in the new neighborhood, established a new elementary public school, built especially to serve their own children and, thus, to avoid integration. As mayor, Sheetrit objected to their initiative, determined to create an integrative educational and sociological system, first and foremost, as a means to allow the disadvantaged children a chance to increase their social mobility. Officially, Sheetrit could

class, ground-floor housing orientation and living standard.

about 1000 spacious, private homes, each with a large courtyard.

**3.3. Overcoming challenging class conflicts**

66 Leadership

Mayor Sheetrit's second attempt to block an unacceptable initiative, instigated for the purpose of avoiding integration, occurred later on, when some of the new residents wanted to open a sports club ('the water park') near their neighborhood; they established it as a nonprofit association in which the owners (i.e., shareholders) of the potentially exclusive club were all residents of the affluent neighborhood. Mayor Sheetrit was once again concerned that this might encourage a pattern of segregation between new and old residents. However, being a pragmatic and creative leader, he did not reject this initiative outright, but insisted on establishing some prerequisite ownership criteria that would open the water park to other members. Sheetrit wanted to promote the circulation of social capital and to reshape the local social system, making it more inclusive and integrative. As such, his main precondition was that at least one third of the club's shareholders come from outside the affluent neighborhood. This obliged the founders to appeal to residents of the old neighborhoods and to convince them to accept partial ownership of the club.

By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Yavne had become much stronger, much less stigmatized, and much more integrated. The high school now includes children from all the social classes and socioeconomic levels. The local partisan-politics system is not strictly divided according to ethnic or class lines. The aforementioned sports club became an inclusive, rather exclusive, place and is not identified the upper-middle class. Since the 1990s (and more intensely since 2010), Yavne has raised its status and is currently considered a strong suburban magnet that attracts young couples from broader areas surrounding the Tel Aviv metropolis. Indeed, such improvements were also caused by other sources and mechanisms (steps taken by the three mayors who followed Sheetrit). Nonetheless, taking a broad perspective, the strategic steps made by Mayor Sheetrit during the 1980s caused a positive, fundamental shift, substantially altering the urban socio-cultural dynamics in Yavne. Not only

<sup>5</sup> According to the Israeli "Mandatory Education Law of 1949," while the municipalities were the official zoning authorities, school children were only to be registered in the schools within their own residential zones.

did Sheetrit correctly identify the competitive advantage of Yavne, he also tailored it to fit the target populations. Furthermore, after gaining this advantage, Sheetrit harnessed the abilities and high potential of his upper-middle class residents for the benefit of the greater Yavne community. Sheetrit accomplished these difficult and selfless tasks by remaining committed to his urban social vision, standing firm and engaging in tough negotiations with relatively strong people. To borrow a well-known typological model suggested by Svara [8], it seems that Sheetrit fits the *entrepreneurial* model of leadership (or the 'innovator'). According Svara, the *entrepreneurial* leader is one who sets a policy that strives to push forward *structural reforms* within the urban sphere and successfully carries them.<sup>6</sup>

regularly bypassed the professional suggestions made by other officials and uprooted local criticism by means of a tactic of co-opting political rivals. At that time, such leadership norms had a great impact on Yeruham's residents. For example, the citizens were deeply convinced that if they have a tangible problem, the best way to handle it would be by seeking political assistance by means of gaining personal favor with the mayor, rather than making an effort to deal with their own problems by themselves. This political pattern changed significantly in 1992, when a young local leader, Mayor Moti Avisror, entered the Mayor's Office (1992–2003).

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Right after being elected, Avisror stated that he wished to substantially change the common practice in the Yeruham municipality and in city politics as a whole. Avisror took many steps designed to undermine the culture of dependency and to thwart the popular habit of leaning on exogenous political aid. He strove to make Yeruham a place where its citizens are prouder, more independent and self-sustaining. For instance, when local citizens would enter the Mayor's Office seeking help, Avisror would politely reject them, saying: "You should first go to the professional department manager, who'll gladly help you. If they can't help you there, then come back to me." Furthermore, in contrast to the former prevailing governing norms (based on access to the mayor being granted only to select political comrades or by nepotism), Mayor Avisror practiced norms based on professional considerations and meritocratic values. Thus, whenever the municipality of Yeruham sought to recruit professional contractors, Avisror insisted that the screening of potential candidates be given to impartial, private agencies that would examine them in accordance with professional criteria. He always explained to those seeking jobs within the municipality: "First, you should pass the external tests," (i.e., the relevant occupational aptitude tests). By applying such practices and policy, Avisror sought to change the 'old' well-established norms and to promote a political culture of professionalism and autonomy. Unsurprisingly, in late 1990s, the municipality of Yeruham received many awards from various Israeli ministries and state agencies praising Mayor Avisror and his staff on their excellence and professionalism in management and leadership.

However, many young people in Yeruham were deeply disappointed with this managerial style, and unlike the governmental ministries and officials, they did not consider it to be efficient or successful; they argued that the unavoidable outcome of choosing meritocratic values and higher professional standards is the deprivation and exclusion the weakest, most disadvantaged residents. To a certain degree, their criticism was justified. This highlights the paradoxical nature of applying the meritocratic model of leadership in marginal, disadvantaged peripheral areas; the inherent structure of this model promotes and benefits only the more professional and well-educated members of the lower class (often correlating with young people). In many cases, the less privileged, those most in need of help from local leadership,

A reasonable and logical solution to this problem might be to implement an egalitarian policy alongside the meritocracy, as, in fact, was done by Mayor Avisror. Although he insisted on establishing local norms based on higher professional standards, at same time, he advanced certain egalitarian projects, directly targeting the young strata of local residents, such as the

do not stand a chance in meritocratic competition.

high-school students, as described below.

The above analysis concentrated on the relationship between a mayor and his socio-political environment, showing that strong leadership can make a significant difference. However, this analysis may be deceptive and unintentionally lead some to a naïve attitude towards leadership, due to the use of the social-class perspective to analyze the 'leader-followers relationship', while taking for granted the cultural and value orientations of both the leader and the followers. To achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of leadership, we must also incorporate the cultural context and the value orientation of the actors involved. The following section highlights and clarifies this aspect.
