Miriam Feirberg

Miriam Feirberg Ikar (Hebrew: מרים פיירברג איכר‎; born 11 July 1951) is the mayor of Netanya, a city in the Central District of Israel. Feirberg is the first (elected) female mayor in Netanya and one of the few women who have served as mayors of Israeli cities.

Miriam Feirberg
13th mayor of Netanya
Assumed office
1998-
Preceded byVered Swid
Personal details
Born(1951-07-11)11 July 1951
Acre, Israel
Political partyLikud
Spouse(s)Eli Feirberg(until 2004)
Roni Icar (from 2004)

She was born in Acre, a city in northern Israel. Her father was an officer in the Israel Border Police, and her mother was a social worker.[1] She obtained her Bachelor of arts degree in sociology, criminology and social work, and her Master of Arts degree in social work, both from Bar-Ilan University.[1] From 1972 to 1988 Feirberg was a social worker and the executive of the social services department in the city hall of Netanya. From 1988 to 1993 she was the head of the welfare and health administration in the city hall. From 1993 to 1998 Feirberg was a city councilwoman and the culture superior on behalf of the city. Feirberg was elected as mayor of Netanya in 1998, elected again in 2003, in 2008, in 2013 and in 2018.

Feirberg was married to Eli Feirberg, and they have a son, Tzafrir, and a daughter, Tal. In 2004 she married Roni Ikar, who two years earlier she had appointed as the CEO of Netanya municipality.[2] Ikar quit his job, and as of today (2006) he is the CEO of Ahuzot Hahof, which operates the Tel Aviv municipality's parking lots.[3]

Feirberg won several prizes, included a prize for efficient management (1990) from the Union of Local Authorities in Israel.

The Israel police arrested Feirberg and several of her colleagues and relatives in September 2016 on suspicion of bribery, fraud, and abuse of power in connection with an investigation into alleged municipal corruption[4][5] by Lahav 433.[6] In June 2019, however, the investigation against Feirberg was closed, after State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan and other officials found a lack of evidence against Feirberg.[7][8] Prosecutors are pursuing charges against Netanya Deputy Mayor Shimon Sher.[7]

References
  1. Biography on the website of Netanya municipality (in Hebrew)
  2. Mayor of Netanya Married Her Former CEO, ynet (in Hebrew)
  3. The Parking Dynamics Of Israeli Cities, Planetizen (in English)
  4. Kubovich, Yaniv (September 7, 2016). "Police Arrest Israeli Mayor on Suspicion of Bribery, Fraud". HaAretz.
  5. Yaron, Lee; Pulwer, Sharon (July 27, 2016). "A Family Affair: How the Mayor's Relatives and Likud Activists Help Run Netanya". HaAretz.
  6. Prosecutors recommend criminal charges for newly reelected Netanya mayor, Times of Israel (November 5, 2018).
  7. Prosecutor: Not enough evidence to charge Netanya mayor in bribery case, Times of Israel (June 23, 2019).
  8. Revital Hovel, Corruption Case Against Netanya Mayor Closed Due to Lack of Evidence, Haaretz (June 23, 2019).
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