The 2018 Haifa mayoral election was held on 30 October 2018 to elect the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. It saw the election of

Einat Kalisch-Rotem Einat Kalisch-Rotem ( he, עינת קליש-רותם; born 3 September 1970) is an Israeli urban planner and politician serving as mayor of Haifa since 2018. She is the first female mayor to lead any of the three major cities in Israel. Career ...

, who unseated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

mayor

Yona Yahav Yona Yahav ( he, יונה יהב, born 19 June 1944) is an Israeli lawyer and politician. He was formerly a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. Yahav was the mayor of Haifa between 2003 and 2018. In the 2018 Haifa mayoral election, he l ...

. Kalisch-Rotem became the first female mayor of Haifa, making Haifa the largest city in Israel, and first major Israeli city, to ever have a female mayor. The election was part of the

2018 Israeli municipal elections Municipal elections were held in Israel on October 30, 2018. A run-off was held on November 13 in localities where a candidate for mayor received at least 40% of the vote. For the first time, the four local councils in Druze localities in the Go ...

Candidates

*Avihu Han (Haifa Greens) *

(Living in Haifa), city council member, urban planner, teacher and 2013 mayoral candidate *Mendi Salzmann (Haifa Awakens) *Israel Ya'akov Savyon (Lovers of Haifa) *

(Yona Yahav and Haifa's Youth), incumbent mayor since 2003

Campaign

Kalisch-Rotem's candidacy was endorsed by the

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

party. While Kalisch-Rotem's candidacy was endorsed by the national

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a social democratic and Zionist political party in Israel. The pa ...

leader

Avi Gabbay Avraham "Avi" Gabbay ( he, אַבְרָהָם "אָבִי" גַּבַּאי, born 22 February 1967) is an Israeli businessman and politician. He was CEO of the telecommunications company Bezeq from 2007 to 2013, then entered politics. He served ...

, she did not receive the backing of the local Labor Party. The local Labor Party was headed by mayoral opponent Israel Savyon. Nevertheless, her ultimate victory was seen as a boon for the troubled Labor Party, with a Gabbay-backed candidate defeating Yahav, who was seen as close to

Moshe Kahlon Moshe Kahlon ( he, מֹשֶׁה כַּחְלוֹן, born 19 November 1960) is a retired Israeli politician. Between 2003 and 2013 he served as a member of the Knesset for Likud, and as Minister of Communications and Minister of Welfare & Social ...

, a political enemy of Gabbay. Despite her being nonreligious, Kalisch-Rotem's candidacy also received support from the city's

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

community, including from the Degel HaTorah party. Haredi support for a female mayoral candidate was considered notable, as Haredi are seen as tending to believe that leadership should be exclusive to men, as well as tending to believe that women should avoid bringing attention to themselves in the manner required of politicians. Haredi residents of the city backed Kalisch-Rotem with the intent of ousting Yahav. Kalisch-Rotem's candidacy had originally been disqualified by a district court due to the fact that her lawyer and the Labor Party had submitted both her candidacy and the candidacy of Israel Savyon. However, on 22 October, 2018, the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

, decided that she would be allowed to run. Of the hundreds of Israeli communities that held mayoral races held during the 2018 municipal elections, Haifa was one of roughly ten cities to elect a woman as its mayor. This was an increase from the seven communities that had elected female mayors during the 2013 municipal elections.

Results

The results in Haifa, with 125,333 voters participating of 256,559 eligible , are as follows. Of the 125,333 votes, 118,271 were valid. Kalisch-Rotem's victory was considered an upset.

References

{{reflist

Mayoral elections in Haifa