A secular candidate for Jerusalem’s mayor is running against a conservative backed by ultra-Orthodox rabbis in a race to determine the balance of power between the holy city’s Jewish communities.  

Secular Jerusalemites and their ultra-Orthodox neighbours have tussled for years over the role of religion in city government, leading to cultural battles over everything from gay pride parades to which restaurants can open on the Sabbath.     

The debate has become more fraught as the ultra-Orthodox population has grown due to high birth rates, with the average ultra-Orthodox woman having seven children compared to three in the general Israeli population. 

Today, Jerusalem’s Jewish population of 550,000…