Will Kiryat Shmona vote differently? "The war caused impossible damage, not the government"

Almost two years have passed since the first ceasefire on the northern border came into effect — which was violated more than once — but only about 40% of Kiryat Shmona residents have returned to the city. In recent months, with the opening of the election campaign and until the opening of the polling stations, party leaders competing for local votes have arrived and will arrive in Kiryat Shmona, making statements for the ears of the rest of the country's residents. This is out of the knowledge that the shameful failure of the government and the state in rehabilitating the city and its situation is an important case study — as its collapse is an unprecedented national event. In the local parliaments of a city that has experienced exhausting rounds of fighting and a prolonged evacuation, the residents who remained behind talk about a clear sense of abandonment. But between blind ideological loyalty to Betar and the "zero" grade the government received, it is evident that residents find it difficult to "recalculate the route" and move away from the voting patterns that have accompanied them since infancy.

In the 2022 elections, Likud received 49.47% of the votes in Kiryat Shmona. In the place after it was the Religious Zionism party with 13.67%, and then Shas with 11%, which in all four last election cycles garnered about 1 out of every 10 votes in the city. The Zionist opposition parties together received only about 22.63% of the votes. In the election before that, Likud received 51.37% of the votes, and in the 2020 election — 58.13%. However, in the local authority elections, Kiryat Shmona chose Avichai Stern and not the Likud candidate Eli Zafrani, and government ministers almost did not reach the city even in its most difficult hours. This, in parallel with the terrible disaster that befell the city and its difficult situation, brought about a feeling in the political system that this time Kiryat Shmona might vote differently. Many residents, it seems, are no longer willing to be taken for granted. But the Likud base remains strong, and so do the Haredi Shas voters. Therefore, the task of any politician who is not from the Netanyahu camp to take votes here will be difficult nonetheless — even if it is a historic opportunity.

The situation of Kiryat Shmona is clearly seen also in the education department in the municipality, where in recent weeks more than 350 students were subtracted, whose parents left the city at the end of the school year and parted from it, after they returned to it from the prolonged evacuation, were disappointed — and decided to leave for good. On the other hand, close to 100 new children were registered for schools following a wave of immigration for Zionist motives, and in the city they hope that additional residents will join it and take part in its revival. The disaster of Kiryat Shmona, it should be noted, is not only local. It is a national disaster, a failure that stems from long years of neglect and turning a blind eye. The question of rehabilitating the North accompanies many citizens, even those who are not from the area, when they come to decide what to vote for in the upcoming elections.

"Everyone hugs us before the elections"

The first stop was at the local discussion cabinet at "Ma'afe Ne'eman" in the "Big" complex at the entrance to the city, where Eli Abergel, 68, a father of three and grandfather of nine, sits. Two of his children still live in the city, but he laments that the human landscape around him has changed beyond recognition. It is clear to Abergel that suddenly, ahead of the elections, politicians remember the city's existence and see it as an electoral asset. "Suddenly everyone became right-wing. Everyone hugs us before the elections," he says. All these years Abergel voted Mahal (Likud), and even if he has criticism of the conduct of Likud ministers who for years have boycotted the city since they did not vote for their candidate, Eli Zafrani, in the mayoral elections — he is not willing to address it. "I believe that this time things will change, in the next government. Today everyone is aware of the situation of Kiryat Shmona. Of the negative migration, of the state of businesses in general here. Today all the ministers put their hand on Kiryat Shmona and want to give as much as possible in order to improve the situation. I believe that after the elections the city will march to a better place," he adds with hope. From Abergel's point of view, a veteran Likud member, the way to rehabilitate the city passes through the ballot box, and thanks to this, perhaps senior ministers will make a pilgrimage to it — and be exposed in an unmediated way to its needs. "Now there are primaries so I believe everyone will come to Kiryat Shmona and meet with us Likud members so that we give them our vote," he says. "I believe that this time it will be different. They will make a plan or something big. They will pass a Kiryat Shmona law. All the young people who left Kiryat Shmona will return."

"The war caused damage, not the government"

Despite the heavy blows the city suffered, Abergel refuses to place the responsibility on the party he has served for decades. "The war caused damage to Kiryat Shmona at an impossible level. It's not the government, the war did it," he claims. However, even he does not ignore the feeling of historical deprivation: "The government did not put an emphasis on Kiryat Shmona before the war. To Judea and Samaria they transferred funds, instead of Kiryat Shmona." When asked if throughout the way, including the rounds of fighting and the prolonged evacuation, he did not consider voting differently, his answer was sharp and based on a deep political identity: "No. I am a Betar supporter. From age 12 in the Betar youth movement and I instructed in Betar and in the national leadership in Tel Aviv." According to him, "It is an ideology to vote Mahal. You see Eisenkot and the Democrats and the other parties that say they are right-wing but they are left-wing and in a big way. They talk about a Palestinian state and all sorts of things that ideologically I cannot give them my vote. I can't even think about it." He adds that "we choose Likud because we see the reality on a national level, and not just what is good for Kiryat Shmona. If they enter from Judea and Samaria to Kfar Saba — how do you want to make agreements with them? Everyone will give them a Palestinian state. Eisenkot will be a puppet of the left, they will do with him what they want." His wife, Ora Abergel, reinforces his words with resignation. Although at times it seemed she was trying to hide a smile at the sound of his words. "My husband is a Herut man from birth and will not change his mind. He is a Mahal man and will vote for Likud. I am not very involved in politics but I will also vote for Likud," she says. On the question of whether she does not feel anger at the government, she replies that she "does not want to get into it."

"Budget is not arriving. The grade for the government — zero?"

Alongside the loyalty of its residents to Betar, in the local parliaments of Kiryat Shmona, residents are still able to sit with one another, even if their opinions are different. David Talvitz, a former city engineer, does not believe the promises. He almost abandons the stormy discussion in anger at the sound of his friend Abergel's words. "I don't believe in it. Even a budget that was approved 5-6 years ago for fortifying the North did not reach Kiryat Shmona," he says in anger. "From 26 thousand residents after a war, maybe 9,500 remained. Who can fix this? People are not returning, on the contrary. There is a lack of registration in kindergartens and schools. I don't want to say who I will vote for, but in the previous elections I did not vote for Likud and in these too I will not vote." David Avraham (73), a father of four and grandfather of ten who was born in Kiryat Shmona, believes that the current situation is not a decree of fate but a result of ongoing policy. "I am bursting with laughter," he says cynically after Abergel finishes his fiery speech. "For five years they have been building a medical center in Kiryat Shmona on a voluntary basis, from donations. I give this government a grade of zero. They took Dichter who was head of Shin Bet and made him Minister of Agriculture and Ben Gvir — Minister of Internal Security. Where have we reached?", he says. In recent months, the budgets that the government committed to transfer for the rehabilitation and development of the city finally began to flow, under promises of a rosy and prosperous future picture. But this, if it materializes, will bear fruit in many long years. Avraham describes a long history of a feeling of abandonment towards the government: "For many years they have been treating Kiryat Shmona like this. I am 73 and I was born in Kiryat Shmona. I know what the historical Labor party gave to Kiryat Shmona and from '77 until today what Likud gave to Kiryat Shmona — zero," he says with pain. According to him, "The emergency room that was there closed — because of Likud. The Prime Minister then was Bibi. No factory has arrived in Kiryat Shmona since. Nothing has been done in this city except for things like maybe roads, because not only Kiryat Shmona residents passed there and it was needed for the army and tourists." David Avraham has already made his election decision for the next time: "I am today with Eisenkot. The man was the Northern Command chief and knows the North and the needs here," he believes. Alongside this, many voices in the city are still wavering — and quite a few residents will probably vote as they have voted all these years. In the end, election day will perhaps bring with it a rare opportunity to get a picture of the situation regarding the number of its residents. To this day, there is no official body that knows how to point exactly to the number of residents living in it at the moment. The number of votes that will be counted in the polling stations, compared to those that were counted in the polling stations of 2021 — will perhaps be a measure that, if it does not decide the Knesset elections, will provide a more accurate glimpse into the true composition of the city's residents.