Yona Yahav with 36.3% of the Haifa votes • We will meet on 10/3/24 for the second round ► Watch

Yona Yahav finished yesterday (Tuesday 27/2/23) the election day in Haifa, with 36.3% of the votes and will face David Etzioni in the second round, who won 21.9% of the votes.

Yona Yahav's experience as the mayor of Haifa for 15 years and during 3 consecutive terms (from 2003 to 2018), it seems, was to his credit in last night's elections (Wednesday 27/2/24), when Haifa residents gave him 36.3% of their votes and thus acquitted him With the highest support among the many contestants - 12 in number, who competed for the position of mayor of Haifa.

Immediately after him is David Etzioni, with 21.9% of the Haifa votes. Although the two contestants received high support among Haifaites, none of them reached 40% of the votes, the minimum required for a decision, therefore they will face each other in the second round.

◄Yona Yahav this morning (Wednesday 28/2/24) after the results of the first round of the elections • Watch

It is hard to forget the defeat that Nahal Yahav suffered in the previous elections in 2018, after 3 consecutive terms in the management of the city, was eliminated by the overwhelming victory of Kalish Rotem, who garnered 56% of the votes (vs. 37% for Lihav).

After in the previous elections in 2018, a fairly aggressive campaign was conducted against Yahav that called for his replacement, it seems that after the term of Kalish Rotem, as much as the hope it inspired at the beginning, so much disappointment as it lasted, people in Haifa woke up longing for Yona Yahav, and they voted with their feet when they came to vote for the mayor's return The familiar and the veteran.

The assumption of the voters in 2018, according to which the new one is necessarily better, proved to be wrong in this case, and the people of Haifa realized that this time they did not want to take the risk again.

Even then, in 2018, it was clear that as far as Yahav was concerned, the last word had not yet been said, but in the run-up to the current elections, when candidates began to announce their entry into the race, Yahav procrastinated and spread vague messages about his intention to run for a fourth term, but when it came, it was immediately clear that after the term of Kalish Rotem, which many defined as "disappointing" to say the least, Yahav will be among the prominent contestants.

It should be noted that the large number of claimants for the position of mayor in these elections led to the dispersion of voters' votes and made it difficult to decide, something that will be resolved in the second and decisive round.

For the first time, Yona Yahav was elected mayor of Haifa in 2003, on behalf of the Shinio Party and the Green Party in Haifa. In 2008 he was elected for a second term and in 2013 he was elected for the third consecutive time as mayor.

Yahav's loss in 2018 came, as I remember, when he was defeated by the inexperienced candidate at the time - Dr. Einat Kalish Rotem. He finished his position on November 19, 2018 and although he was elected as a member of the city council, he decided to retire about two months later.

With all the criticism directed at Yahav around the election period in 2018, and even though many Haifa residents were eager to replace him, it seems that in the five years of Kalish Rotem they learned an important lesson when they realized that not everything "new" is necessarily better...

During Yahav's time, thousands of housing units were built, a new neighborhood "Naot Peres" was established and built and the construction of the "Ramot Zemer" neighborhood began and a new outline plan for the city was approved. Yahav initiated and established the "Port Campus". In addition, he renovated and developed the downtown, including the renovation of Paris Square and new construction for residences, cafes and restaurants.

The Carmel tunnels were built during his tenure, the execution of which was initiated and promoted by the previous mayor, Amram Metzna. A number of major roads were built, including the Nahal HaGivori road, the Kiryat bypass road, and hundreds of kilometers of neighborhood roads were upgraded in the city. During Yahav's time, the matron began to operate throughout the city and the project to establish the "Hafaretz Center" began, which was inaugurated during the time of Kalish. In addition to the cable car project that was also inaugurated during the time of Klish.

Yahav was one of the initiators of "Car to Go" which some residents liked and helped and some did not like on the grounds that they were taking away parking spaces. The project was halted and canceled immediately upon the beginning of Kalish's tenure, a decision that upset many of the residents who saw it as a successful project.

In Yahav's time, multi-system infrastructure tunnels were also built in the lower city and in the Hadar neighborhood. which are intended to be an efficient and advanced solution for moving infrastructure in dense areas and are currently used to move a large amount of underground infrastructure. The tunnels allow entry for control and treatment without the need to dig in the road and disrupt traffic. The tunnels include electricity infrastructure, lighting, Bezeq, Hot, telecommunications companies, water, sewage and drainage, traffic light control, light rail infrastructure and more.

During Yahav's time, a "Skate Park" complex designed for skateboarders, roller blades, etc. was built and established, in many neighborhoods around the city public fitness facilities were placed to encourage physical activity in the open air. During his time, the sports hall in Romma was also renovated, and adapted to international standards, which allow hosting International basketball championships, and the Sami Ofer Stadium was also established in Haifa. Yahav promoted community sports events in Haifa, including the Stair Race, the "Haifa Race", the "Strong Man" competition and more.

Yahav is indeed in his 8th decade of life, but many Haifaites now see him as the savior who can save Haifa, especially after five years under the leadership of Kelish Rotem, some of whom often caused dissatisfaction...

It seems that his experience and actions during the 15 years in which he managed the city, remain to his credit and many have changed their minds and chose to put their trust in him again, with faith and hope that in the coming term he will give and invest all his skills and abilities to return the city of Haifa to its beautiful days, as it was during his reign and even more so and will return it to a central place on the map.

Yahav was born and raised in Haifa, studied at the Leo-Bek Elementary School and at the Hogi High School. In the army he served in the military police and graduated with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He studied law at the Hebrew University and served as chairman of the Israel Student Association. Yahav was elected and served in many senior positions and was even elected a member of the Knesset in the 14th Knesset between 1996-1999 and served as a member of many committees.

Yahav is married to Prof. Rivka Yahav and they have a son from her previous marriage who was officially adopted by Yahav, and two daughters together.