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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

. It saw the election of

Einat Kalisch-Rotem Einat Kalisch-Rotem (; born 3 September 1970) is an Israeli urban planner and politician who served as mayor of Haifa from 2018 to 2024. She was the first female mayor to lead any of the three major cities in Israel. Biography Kalisch was b ...

, who unseated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

mayor

Yona Yahav Yona Yahav (; born 19 June 1944) is an Israeli lawyer and politician currently serving as the mayor of Haifa since 2024. Yahav previously served as Mayor from 2003 and, 2018, when he lost re-election to Einat Kalisch-Rotem. In 2024, Yahav was r ...

. 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 Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 20 ...

Candidates

*Avihu Han ( Haifa Greens) *

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

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

Campaign

Kalisch-Rotem's candidacy was endorsed by the

Meretz Meretz (, ; ) was 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 had no seats in the Knesset following its failure ...

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

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

leader

Avi Gabbay Avraham "Avi" Gabbay (; 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 as Minister of Environmental Protection between 2015 ...

, 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 (; 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 Services. After taking a break from ...

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

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

community, including from the

Degel HaTorah Degel HaTorah () is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence, it has been allied with Agudat Yisrael, under the name United Torah Judaism. History Degel HaTorah was founded in 1988, as a splinter from Agudat Isr ...

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 of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) 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 Court consists of 15 jud ...

, 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

Kalisch-Rotem's victory was considered an upset.

References

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Mayoral elections in Haifa October 2018 in Israel