PM aides pressured reluctant Kiryat Shmona mayor to appear in election video — sources

By Ariela Karmel

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichay Stern was pressured by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides to appear in a campaign video with him on Tuesday during the inauguration of the new Tel Hai University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.

In the clip Netanyahu posted, Stern thanks him, says “I believe in you” and hopes Israelis will understand “who to vote for.” Netanyahu adds: “It’s easy: vote ‘Mahal,'” referring to Likud’s ballot symbol.

תודה לראש עיריית קריית שמונה, אביחי שטרן, על התמיכה ועל השותפות למען תושבי העיר והגליל כולו.

היום הגשמנו חלום של שנים עם פתיחת האוניברסיטה. יחד נמשיך לבנות , לפתח ולהצמיח.

קריית שמונה לא רק חוזרת, היא פורחת! ???????? pic.twitter.com/c4S79OM6s8

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 20, 2026

The sources say Stern did not want to make the video or appear to endorse Netanyahu, but acquiesced in order to do “what was necessary for Kiryat Shmona” and its new university. They say there was concern that refusing the Prime Minister’s Office could put the university’s funding at risk, but could not confirm that anyone explicitly threatened to withhold funding if Stern did not participate.

Hebrew media reports following the video’s release said people close to Stern disputed that he had explicitly called on voters to support Likud. Stern has for years been one of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics, accusing the prime minister and his government of abandoning Kiryat Shmona and the north during the war.

The sources also say the Prime Minister’s Office requested a last-minute change to the university’s name. The institution was initially supposed to be called Tel Hai University, but in the days before the inauguration its name was changed to ‘Tel Hai University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee,’ to emphasize its connection to the city, a Likud stronghold.

Netanyahu had a prolonged falling-out with Stern during the war and made few visits to Kiryat Shmona, despite the city being among those hardest hit by the mass evacuation in the north and Hezbollah fire. In June 2024, when the city was nearly completely evacuated, Netanyahu visited but did not meet with Stern.