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KIRYAT SHMONA — A municipal election unlike any other took place on Tuesday in Kiryat Shmona, a northern Israeli city still reeling from the aftermath of war.
Delayed by 15 months due to the conflict with Hezbollah, the election saw three mayoral candidates vying for support in a city where nearly 80% of residents remain displaced.
With approximately 19,000 of Kiryat Shmona’s 24,000 residents scattered across Israel, election campaigns were forced to extend far beyond the city limits.
Candidates traveled to more than 500 communities and 400 hotels housing evacuees, as the majority of polling stations were set up outside the city.
“I felt like a candidate in a general election, running to find supporters everywhere in the country—just not in Kiryat Shmona,” said Eli Zafrani, the Likud-backed contender, from his campaign headquarters in the near-empty city.
Election Without a City
The war that erupted in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel quickly spread to the northern border, prompting the mass evacuation of Kiryat Shmona.
Hezbollah rocket fire has since left homes in ruins and reinforced the fears of residents, many of whom remain uncertain about returning.
The voting process itself was chaotic. In Kiryat Shmona, just 5,200 people cast their ballots. Incumbent mayor Avihai Stern secured 39.2% of the vote, Zafrani followed with 30.5%, and Ofir Yehezkeli, Stern’s former deputy turned opposition figure, earned 28.6%.
Since no candidate crossed the required 40% threshold, the city is now headed for a runoff election.
Votes cast outside Kiryat Shmona are still being counted, further delaying a final result.
A City in Political Limbo
Stern, 39, has positioned himself as a fierce critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blaming his government for neglecting the city’s security. “He should have resigned as prime minister immediately after October 7,” Stern has repeated throughout the war.
Despite his criticisms, initial results suggest he has maintained strong support, likely due to his efforts to ensure better living conditions for evacuees.
Zafrani, 55, ran with a strong endorsement from Netanyahu, featuring the prime minister in his campaign materials. However, opinions on Netanyahu’s leadership in Kiryat Shmona remain divided.
While many residents voted Likud in past elections, some remain frustrated by the government’s handling of their displacement and security concerns.
Yehezkeli, 45, campaigned under the slogan that “Kiryat Shmona has no father,” reflecting the uncertainty and frustration felt by many evacuees.
Some voters expressed deep concerns over the city’s future, unsure whether schools, jobs, and essential services will ever fully return.
Will Kiryat Shmona Wake Up?
As the IDF completed its withdrawal from southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Kiryat Shmona remained eerily quiet. The city’s destruction—from Hezbollah rocket attacks to abandoned buildings—serves as a stark reminder of the challenges ahead.
Municipal leaders acknowledge that many displaced residents have grown accustomed to their new lives in central Israel, receiving government stipends and settling into better living conditions. “The question is, how many will come back?” one city official wondered aloud.
Whoever wins the mayoral race will face the daunting task of convincing thousands of evacuees to return, while also rebuilding an economy, education system, and infrastructure battered by war.
For now, Kiryat Shmona remains a ghost town—waiting for its residents to return, and for its future to be rewritten.