Likud candidate wins special mayoral vote in Netanya after longtime mayor’s death

Avi Slama secures 68% of vote, trouncing acting mayor Tali Mulner's 27%, in election called after previous mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar died of illness while in office

By ToI Staff 21 January 2026, 10:56 am
Avi Slama, the newly elected mayor of Netanya, celebrates his victory after the polls close in the Netanya mayoral election at his campaign headquarters in Netanya, January 20, 2026. (Tal Gal/Flash90)

Avi Slama was elected Tuesday as the new mayor of Netanya, winning a special election to fill the post after the coastal city’s longtime mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar died in November.

Acting Mayor Tali Mulner finished well behind Slama, who received over two-thirds of the ballots cast from among 218,000 eligible voters.

Slama received 68 percent of the vote, with Mulner trailing at 27.49%.

A member of the ruling Likud party, Slama was endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the city on election day to show his support.

In his victory speech, Slama said the city had lost “a giant figure” in Feirberg-Ikar and “with great respect, I assume the role, with the intention of bringing Netanya to national-level achievements,” the Ynet outlet reported.

Feirberg-Ikar, a Likud member who served as mayor of Netanya since 1998, died after a years-long battle with a serious illness, according to an announcement from the municipality.

Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar attends the second round in the elections of for the new Chief Ashkenazi rabbi, at the Chief Rabbinate headquarters in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Slama, 43, has been on the city council since 2018, where he led the opposition. An economist, he formerly held senior banking positions.

He lost the previous elections to Feirberg-Ikar by a narrow margin.

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