Avii Elkabetz

Avii Elkabetz was born in 1964 in Safed

Avii Elkabetz was born in Safed in 1964. He grew up and went to Kiryat Haim High School.

He joined the Israeli Navy in 1982 and retired in 1994 as a major. During his service he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration at the University of Haifa. In 1996 he completed a master's degree in economics in a joint program of the University of Haifa and the Technion.

From 1994 to 2002 he taught economics at the University of Haifa, first as a teaching assistant and later as an adjunct lecturer. He also worked in private business and real estate in Afula. In 1998 he became director general of the Afula municipality under mayor Yitzhak Miron.

He was elected mayor of Afula in 2005 and joined Kadima in 2006. He won again in 2008, lost to Miron in 2013, and returned to office in 2018. He was elected again in 2024.

As mayor he advanced building projects, including a city park, a football stadium, a new neighborhood called Rova Yizre'el, and new schools and kindergartens. He is married to Israela and has 2 daughters and 2 sons.